Corby stabbing: ‘That poor boy is in hospital, and for what?’

As a boy lies in hospital after being stabbed in a residential Corby street in broad daylight yesterday (Friday, September 17), the Kingswood community has reacted with an outpouring of sympathy, anger and upset at the incident that happened right on their doorstep.

The 17-year-old local boy, who we are not naming, was discovered bleeding in an alleyway that runs between two properties in Ripley Walk on the tough Kingswood estate, one of the country’s most deprived areas.

Last night he was said to be in a serious condition in hospital after being flown from the scene in the air ambulance minutes after the attack.

Armed police officers immediately flooded the area and were seen with police dogs at the rear of a home just a few metres away in Epsom Walk.

It comes less than four months after Rayon Pennycook died by a single knife wound on the Hazel Leys estate. Last month a teen was robbed at knifepoint on the Oakley Vale estate. And in June a man was stabbed in Eastbrook, on the Lincoln Estate, after arguing with a passer-by. This time last year a 17-year-old was stabbed in Quarry Close leading to arrests being made at the Pirate Park on the Hazel Leys estate.

Locals told the Northants Telegraph they knew the boy and that the attack had come after a ‘tense’ summer.

One local mum who only wished to be identified by her first name, Estelle, said: “I fear for my children living here. They shouldn’t have to come home from school to find blood on the floor and the police on the doorstep.

“How can I shield them from this? I feel like crying. That poor boy is in hospital and for what?

”It has been tense here for the whole of summer. You feel worried walking past these groups of kids.”

One man who has lived in the street for 30 years, said: “There are police with guns standing here on the street on a Friday afternoon.

“The boy was just lying there by the bins. Just a kid. It’s so sad. It’s happening so often now. The kids need something to do.”

A march to highlight the issue of knives has been arranged for next month by the Corby-based East Midlands Knife Amnesty. After Rayon’s murder in the spring, they told the Northants Telegraph they’d taken 300 knives off the streets of Corby. Last night they posted on social media: “Hope this young man makes a full & speedy recovery.”

North Northamptonshire Council ward councillor Zoe McGhee, who has pledged to help improve life for people living in the area she serves, said: “I have no words. I am incredibly sorry for this young man and his family. And I am determined to continue to make a call for action and support the community to answer these young peoples cry for help.”

And fellow councillor John McGhee said: “Unfortunately another incident in our area. What has to happen before real support for young people in Corby actually happens? Come on North Northants Council and police, let's support OUR young people from this violence.”