Call to look after crime victims

Paul Walmsley and his wife Jayne back the petition

The parents of murdered Lincolnshire schoolboy Luke Walmsley have joined a campaign to get a better deal for the victims of crime.

They are backing a Victims of Crime Trust petition to highlight what they say are gaps in the justice system.

Luke was 14 when he was stabbed with a knife by a fellow pupil at his school in North Somercotes near Louth.

Victims of Crime Trust director Norman Brennan said the criminals are properly looked after, but the victims are not.

'On their knees'

Paul and Jayne Walmsley are taking part in a tour organised by the Victims of Crime Trust, to highlight the cause.

They also backed a previous campaign, along with the Victims of Crime Trust, calling for a five-year minimum sentence for carrying a knife.

Mrs Walmsley said at the time that the government had been too slow to tackle knife crime.

Mr Brennan said: "We believe that it is about time the victims of crime were at the front of the queue because they are always on their knees, their lives are destroyed, their lives are devastated.

"Well, we pick up that devastation and it is about victims of crime - We're at the forefront and that is what this national petition is about."