Mural made in memory of Leo Ross on road where he was fatally stabbed

A mural of 12-year-old Leo Ross has been painted on a wall in Birmingham, near where the schoolboy was fatally stabbed.

The wall outside a house on Scribers Lane in Hall Green, near where Leo died, has been transformed by three graffiti artists in tribute to the boy.

Sue and Ruth Harris, who own the house, said they offered up their wall because they thought there needed to be a permanent memorial.

Ruth Harris said: “I can’t imagine the pain of losing a child. You don’t expect them not to come home after school.”

They hope the mural will give a message to young people to not carry knives.

The pair used to often to see children walking down their road to and from school, but in the wake of Leo’s death, “parents aren’t risking it”.

Lee Warren, 43, from Northfield, is one of the graffiti artists who made the mural.

Mr Warren said: “It’s about community isn’t it and making a statement.”

He told the BBC that people were realising there was a knife crime pandemic, but that there was a naivety with people being reluctant to believe it was in their area.

Leo, a pupil at Christ Church C of E Secondary Academy in Yardley Wood, was believed to have been making his way home from school when he was stabbed in the stomach on 21 January.

Members of the public came to his aid and phoned emergency services but he died in hospital later that day.

In a tribute to Leo, his family described him as an “amazing, kind and loving boy”.

A 14-year-old boy is due to appear at Birmingham Crown Court on 22 April to enter pleas to charges of murder, possessing a bladed article, and four counts of assault.

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