AN ANDOVER mum whose son was stabbed to death in a case of mistaken identity is warning that gang culture is “spreading like a virus” across the UK - and warns that the town shouldn’t be complacent.
Jean Foster was left devastated when her 34-year-old son Christopher was murdered after being attacked of men on a night out in London in 2013.
Aytach Lisani, 33, from Brentwood, mistook Christopher for someone he was seeking revenge for a previous assault, and stabbed the law clerk, robbing Christopher’s four-year-old daughter of her beloved father.
Lisani pleaded guilty and is currently serving a minimum of 23 years behind bars. Three other men were found guilty of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.
Jean has since dedicated her life to making society aware of the dangers of knife crime - and is urging schools and residents in Andover not to be complacent.
The mother said she believes there are far too many people who think knife violence only happens in London.
“The truth is the gang culture is just spreading like a virus,” Jean said.
“It’s not just stuck with London. It’s all over. People might think it happens only in London. It also happens here but maybe not on such a big scale. But if we get a campaign actively going here, then it will never get to that big scale.”
According to figures from Hampshire Constabulary, there were 50 reported cases of possession of a bladed weapon in Andover in the past 12 months.
And across the county, there were at least 590 knife and offensive weapon crimes which resulted in a caution or sentence in 2019, its highest level since 2009.
While hospital figures showed that in Hampshire last year, doctors treated 93 patients who had been stabbed with a sharp object.
Jean believes schools across the town need to be teaching children about the dangers but said she has been disappointed.
She approached a secondary school to speak to the children about her newly launched campaign, ‘Cut it out’. But she left feeling discouraged after she was allegedly told that knife crime “doesn’t happen around here”.
Jean highlighted a recent case where an Andover boy stabbed a Southampton teenager Jamie Laurie, which lead him to die.
The Andover boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was cleared of murder after a jury was told he acted in ‘self-defence’ and was handed a 12-month community order.
Hampshire Constabulary said they were ‘disappointed’ by the outcome.
WARNING: Some people may find this footage upsetting.
Jean said she feels if local schools had taken her up on her invitation to speak about the scourge of knife crime, then perhaps incidents like Jamie Laurie’s murder wouldn’t have happened.
She said: “Maybe, just maybe, if I’d have got my message out to the schools, I could have got through to [people like] him and made him think before he acted.
“Because in the heat of the moment than that knife comes out, they don’t think beyond the attack.”
Jean’s campaign includes educating children and young people against committing knife crimes and equipping them to avoid becoming a victim.
- If you are part of a school administration or a youth club and want Jean to speak to the children, write to us at newsdesk@andoveradvertiser.co.uk.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here