A MOTHER whose son was murdered has issued a desperate appeal for funding so she can continue her work educating others about the dangers of knife and gang crime.

Chris Cave was stabbed to death in Redcar in June 2003, and since then, his mother, Theresa, has fought tirelessly alongside her other son Tom to deter young people from carrying a knife or a gun or committing violent crime.

In November 2003, Sean Matson was jailed for life for murdering Chris, who was 17.

Following his death, Mrs Cave set up The Chris Cave Foundation, which aims to raise money for projects around the country in efforts to help ‘kill violence on the streets’.

The charity has spoken to thousands of children and helped hundreds of families who have suffered as a result of knife or gun violence, and Mrs Cave recently visited Acklam Grange School in Middlesbrough to speak to students.

But more than 15 years on, Mrs Cave is seeking financial support to help her continue with her vital work.

A fundraising event will be held at Kenzie's in Redcar on Thursday, May 16 from 7pm, which will include entertainment and an auction to raise money.

Mrs Cave said: "They are raising some funds for us to help us with our work – we need lots of things like advertising leaflets, posters, hoodies, t-shirt and printer ink.

"We have nearly ran dry of the essentials and they are costly. We really need a new laptop and phones but they will have to wait.

"We also need money to travel around and it is not cheap and we don't charge so it is a struggle."

Yesterday, Mrs Cave said "shocking Government cuts" were to blame for the rise in knife crime, as she made a fresh call for longer and tougher sentences.

Last week, Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced he was giving police greater stop and search powers to tackle knife crime, after fatal stabbings rose to 285 in 2017-18, the most ever since records began 70 years ago.

There have been more than 40 fatal stabbings in the UK this year, including at least 23 in London.

Mrs Cave said: "The government are to blame the shocking cuts to youth clubs and activities for young people that kept them off street corners. Give them back a reason to get up on a morning, give them a lifeline, somewhere to go and occupy their minds," she said.

"They have nothing and no one believes in them and sadly that includes many parents who also need to take on the responsibility for their child's actions and show them the guidance they need."