Mother calls for forgiveness at service for murdered son

More than 500 people crowded into the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Lee, south London on Saturday, for a memorial service for Jimmy Mizen, a 16 year-old boy stabbed to death at a bakery near his home on 10 May. Hundreds more gathered outside in the rain to hear the service on speakers. Jimmy had been an altar server at the church.

The service began with a minute's silence, followed by family tributes. Jimmy's brother Danny, told the congregation it was a source of comfort that two of his other brothers, Harry and Tommy, were with Jimmy when he died. He said: "He was our brother and our inspiration. He was my little hero. I was so proud of him."

Jimmy's mother Margaret said: "Anger breeds anger and bitterness, and bitterness will destroy my family if I'm not careful - and I won't allow that to happen," she said. "I don't feel bitterness towards the parents because we're not in control of everything our children do."

Jimmy's father Barry, warned against demands for new laws as a reaction to his son's killing. He said: "It does not have to be like this. Perhaps we all need to look to ourselves and look to the values we would like and our responses to situations in our life. Sometimes we might be drawn into certain ways of our living. It is our choice but change has got to come from all of us."

Jimmy's parents, his six brothers and two sisters, then led the way down to the bakery and continued the service there. Flowers and tributes were laid out in front of the shop, and school ties and blazers were fixed to railings emblazoned with messages for the teenager. His sister Samantha, and mother Margaret, laid a bouquet of lilies at the doorstep of the bakery. Margaret Mizen again made it clear that the family held no grudge against Jimmy's killer. She also said: "The whole community have rallied round and I'm just so blessed."