BOY WHO KILLED MY IAN NEEDED A TOUGH DETERRENT

Widow's law plea as thug is jailed

- JOHN SIDDLE and CHRISTINE CHALLAND

A HEARTBROKEN widow whose husband was stabbed to death by a boy of 14 last night called for tougher sentences to deter thugs from carrying knives.

Ian Kirwan, 53, was murdered after telling off the masked youth and his yob pals outside an Asda.

The killer was jailed for at least 14 years on Wednesday and so could be on the streets before he turns 30.

Ian's widow Lyndsey Blythe, 43, said: "The laws and sentencing guidelines for knife crime do not reflect modern-day society.

"Longer sentences would make these people think about taking a knife out."

But Lyndsey said she refused to feel hatred for the attackers of her "rock and soulmate" husband.

She told us: "I wanted to hate them right from the beginning but couldn't. I could hear Ian's voice and the way he saw the best in people.

"That's probably why he said something to them. He would have been giving them a chance. He was a very moralistic, open-minded man who would be more concerned with doing the right thing."

GUILTY

In a statement to the court, Lyndsey revealed she and Ian had been looking into adopting a child after unsuccessful IVF.

We can reveal that Ian's killer, now 15, had already been excluded from school 31 times and once attacked a teacher.