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A mother whose son died after he was stabbed has said his death "ripped our family apart".

Max Dixon, 16, died following an incident in Knowle West, Bristol, on 27 January, during which his friend Mason Rist, 15, was also killed.

His mum, Leanne Ekland, said knife crime "doesn't just destroy the person who's been killed, it destroys your family".

She added: "I want Max to be remembered for the child he was, and not the child that was killed by knife crime. I want him to be remembered as a fun-loving boy."

Ms Ekland spoke candidly about the devastation knife crime has had on her family.

"It's ripped our family apart. We all struggle to talk to each other because we don't know how to approach it," she said.

"You're taking yourself away from your family. It's a ripple effect, it affects a lot of people and it's just not worth it."

She added that every day, as soon as she walks out of her bedroom door, she sees his bedroom and is "hit" by everything that has happened.

"Each day is a struggle," she said.

"I never thought it would happen to us.

"You know that it goes on but you're oblivious to what's going on really until it actually happens to you. I think we're all a little bit lost."

Max and Mason were injured in Ilminster Avenue. Neighbours went to help the teenagers before they died hours later in hospital.

Addressing people who carry knives, she added: "It doesn't make you 'hard' it makes you a coward to carry a knife, because it means that the only way you can hurt someone is by carrying a knife and that to me is a coward's way out."

Ms Ekland is now supporting a campaign to add bleed-kit training to the national curriculum as part of Max's legacy.

She has set up a petition for bleed-kit training in schools with family friend Carly Kingdon, which has attracted more than 3,000 signatures.

The pair travelled to Westminster on 23 April, to meet the Minister for Schools Damien Hands to discuss their proposals.

They are due to return to Downing Street on 21 May.

"I want something positive to come out of this, with this bleed kit and the campaigning and the education," Ms Ekland said.

"It's never going to bring my boy back home to me, but if Max can be remembered in a good way, that's all I can ask for."

On Wednesday evening, Max's former teammates came together at Park Knowle FC to be taught how to use the kits.

Mrs Kingdon, who is leading the bleed-kit campaign with Ms Ekland, said: "We have to educate these kids about the dangers of using knives.

"These kits could save lives. We really want to get Max's name out there in a positive way, for positive change."

She said there has been a really good response from everyone who has had the training so far.

Ms Ekland added: "We don't know, but one of those [kits] could have saved Max's life. We're never going to know that now.

"But [for others in future] at least with those kits, people can say 'we tried everything' and that's why these bleed kits are so important."

Nine people appeared at Winchester Crown Court in April charged in connection with Max and Mason's deaths.

Of the nine, five were adults and four were youths.

The four youths - two boys aged 15 and two boys aged 16 and 17, who cannot be named for legal reasons - are charged along with Anthony Snook, 44, of Hartcliffe, Bristol, with murdering Mason and Max.

Jamie Ogbourne, 26, of Bishport Avenue, Bailey Westcott, 22, of Vowell Close, Jillian Tolliver, 49, from Hartcliffe, all in Bristol, and Kristian Hooper, 46, from Weston-super-Mare, each face two charges of assisting an offender.

Mrs Justice May has adjourned the case for a further hearing, which will take place at Bristol Crown Court on 7 June.

Additional reporting by Emma Grimshaw

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