'Adolescence was really good but didn't show the devastation caused to victims'

Nearly two years on from losing her son Mikey Roynon, his mother is still in shock. Hayley Ryall's beloved boy was just 16 when he went to a birthday party at a house in Bath and didn't come home.

For on June 10 2023, the much-loved teenager was stabbed with a zombie-style knife and died from a single 9.5cm (3.7in) wound to his neck. Upwards of 70 kids had travelled from Bristol, Bath and further afield to the party and Shane Cunningham, 16, was later detained for life for Mikey's murder with his two friends, Leo Knight and Cartel Bushnell, also 16, jailed for manslaughter.

Mikey didn't know the trio, who were pictured travelling from Wiltshire to Bath with what appeared to be sharp objects visible underneath their clothing. "I miss everything about him," said Hayley. "I miss doing his washing, i even miss telling him off for being late.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

"I miss the mess, I miss cooking for him, I miss that terribly. everything. I just miss the noise in the house. I miss because we don't have that anymore, I miss birthdays, I miss everything."

Hayley was working in Birmingham at the time of her son's death, with 37 missed calls on her phone before Mikey's friend alerted to what had happened, leaving her facing a three hour taxi ride back to Bristol as she prayed he would be ok. "Every day i wake up in the morning and i still feel in shock," she said.

"People say time heals but it doesn't get easier. I have a big wall up where I feel like if I talk about him and go in his bedroom, I can feel him around me and he's still here."

Hayley describes her son as "completely fearless" and "a lot of fun". "He liked playing lots of jokes on me," she said. "He was always excited, he was happy. He told me he loved me about 30 times a day. That was the last thing he said to me: 'Love you Mum'."

A district manager for Slimming World, the bereaved mother is appearing in tonight's C5 documentary The Real Adolescence: Our Killer Kids, which explores the rise in murder convictions for 12-17 year olds in the UK, focusing on the experiences of families affected by these crimes. The hit four-part series that inspired the show's name, Adolescence, attracted more than 24 million viewers.

Starring Stephen Graham, the drama follows 13-year-old Jamie, who is accused of murdering his female classmate. "I thought it was very very good, i just felt like there could have been more towards the victim's family," said Hayley. "It was all about the boy that did it and his family but it didn't show the devastation that causes to the community around that."

The statistics are harrowing. The number of children convicted of murder between 2016 and 2024 rose by more than 300 per cent. Information published by the Office for National Statistics earlier this year found teenager homicide victims in England and Wales were far more likely to have been stabbed to death than any other group - 83 per cent were killed with a sharp instrument.

Zombie-style knives and machetes, including the one that was used to kill Mikey are defined as weapons with blades over eight inches in length, normally with a serrated cutting edge. Last year, they were banned in England and Wales.

Mum Hayley had thought knife crime was "something that happened in London, in big major cities, not where we live," before it affected her family. "Not that you could go to a 16th birthday and have this happen," she said. "The reason I'm speaking in the documentary is because I wish I'd known more two years ago - if it saves one person's life it's worth it.

"If it gets the message out to stop one young person carrying a knife, it's worth it. We need to stop the epidemic of knife crime."

"We have to change how the next generation - it can't keep getting worse," Hayley added. "It is important because kids are killing kids."

The TV show Adolescence explores how technology, particularly social media, influences the lives of young people with toxic masculinity and online abuse at the forefront. It also takes a wider look at the pressures faced by boys in Britain today.

"These kids have to deal with at such a young age with - it's not the real ," said Hayley. "We need to be checking in and asking 'are you ok?'."

In May last year Mikey's murderer Cunningham was ordered to serve a life sentence, with a minimum of 16 years behind bars, at Bristol Crown Court. His friend Bushnell was detained for nine years and Knight for nine years and six months.

"The court case was horrific to go through, to have to sit with those boys in a room," said Hayley. "We were not even allowed to look at them. Getting justice for Mikey, it made a tiny difference but it won't change the fact that it ruined our lives."

Hayley and her partner Scott, a 48-year-old insurance manager, have formed the charity Mikey's World, which has teamed up with her local police force and ambulance service to install specialist first-aid kits, which contain to stop catastrophic bleeding, around her son's hometown. The organisation is also partnering with a technology company to offer virtual reality headset experiences which allow people to step into the shoes of victims of knife crime and beyond.

"We want to into schools to prevent knife crime and raise the awareness of gangs," said Hayley. "I've not watched the knife crime one yet because it's just too difficult."

Watch The Real Adolescence: Our Killer Kids tonight on C5 at 10pm