A PACKED courtroom listened in silence as Shane Tunney's girlfriend spoke of how she was robbed of the love of her life after the brutal attack by a pack of teenage thugs.

Vix Cooper delivered an emotional and heart-wrenching statement at Teesside Crown Court in front of the seven teenagers who were convicted of killing him.

Throughout her address to the judge, her voice never wavered as she spoke about the huge hole that had been left in her life as a result of the senseless murder.

She said: "I will never forget the morning of June 27; it is honestly the day my whole life fell apart. Waking up to numerous text messages and missed calls from so many people. To have my mum walk into my room to tell me Shane had been in an accident, I felt my whole body go cold, my stomach turn and I just went numb.

"I barely had any time to get myself sorted before rushing down to North Tees with his sister Sarah to find out what had happened, to be greeted by a distraught Jean (his mum) and Keith (his dad).

"They took us into the room to see him. In my job as a physiotherapist I have seen numerous people sedated but nothing prepares you for when it is someone so close to your heart.

The Northern Echo: Shane Tunney and partner Vix Cooper
Shane Tunney and partner Vix Cooper

"I remember it like it was yesterday and the image will be forever imprinted in my brain. To see him laid there so lifeless and so vulnerable all I wanted to do was cuddle him and try and make all the problems go away.

"I tried my hardest to keep it together because I wanted people to think that I was strong and that I was able to cope. I knew that I had to be strong for Shane because at this point he couldn't be strong for himself."

Despite early hope that Shane would pull through from his injuries, he had to be transferred to Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital's specialist head trauma unit.

Along with his family, Vix kept a bedside vigil looking for any glimmer of hope that he was going to pull through.

She said she bought a birthday card for his mother, drew around Shane’s hand and wrote the message: “If you ever feel alone just put your hand in mine.”

She told how she and his mother finally decided to “let him sleep” and end his pain, having his ventilator turned off. They played his favourite Rudimental album and saw his breathing slow down as it reached the last song.

"I had lost the other half of me; I was in shock – I honestly didn't know how I was going to cope.

"The reality had hit, he had finally said goodbye. 

"Never again would I hear him giggle, never again would I see his cheeky smile or hear him say how much he loved me and how lucky he was, never again would he cuddle me and tell me that everything was going to be okay.

"I felt my heart had been ripped out and stamped on, nut just felt so numb at the same time."

After the funeral, she said people kept telling her that time was a great healer and that eventually she would get back to normal and move on with her life.

They told her they didn't know how she had the strength to cope with her loss.

She said: "The only person that I have to thank for this strength is the one person who isn't here to take credit, he has made me into this person people claim that I am.

"This has had such a tidal wave affect on all of the people around his close friends and acquaintances.

"And the most heartbreaking thing is knowing that all of this could have been avoided."