A celebration of the life of a 19-year-old from Barnes has been held a year after he was killed.

Becky Beston, the mother of Archie Beston, organised the march on Sunday (March 7) to remember her son.

Family, friends and members of the community met at Castelnau Recreation Ground, a place where Archie used to play football with his friends, for the "Arch March" and went on to release pink biodegradable balloons on Richmond Hill in celebration of his life.

On February 29 2020, Archie, who worked at M&S in Kew alongside his Mum, was fatally stabbed on a night out in Kingston.

His mother said Archie had been walking back to his car, sober before the stabbing took place. He reportedly saw a van deliberately driving towards another boy, 19-year-old Fabian Davis, and became caught up in the incident.

The two men in the van (Tyrone Bryan and Finley Ahwan) attacked the teenagers and Archie succumbed to his injuries in hospital just days later.

As Archie had opted to donate his organs after death, his liver ended up saving the life of another patient, who was on a 24-hour critical list.

On October 2 last year, Bryan, 20, was found guilty of manslaughter, grievous bodily harm (GBH) and possessing an offensive weapon at Kingston Crown Court. He received a 19 year prison sentence.

advertisement

Ahwan, also 20, was found guilty of attempted GBH against Fabian Davis and dangerous driving. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.

While 19 years is a significant amount of time, Becky feels that the manslaughter sentence was too lenient.

She said: "I will be campaigning for changes to the law, specifically #useaknifegetlife and for a revision of the current law which should see offenders sent to prison for five years when caught three times with a knife.

"This law has a loophole which needs to be closed in order to get these offenders off the streets and keep our children safe."

Since the court outcome, Archie's friends and relatives have been sharing a petition for harsher sentences for those who commit knife crimes.

The petition argues: "The sentence for stabbing needs to be a life sentence. Why should they get the luxury of a life on the outside, when their victims often don't?

With more people signing after the march that was organised yesterday, the petition is now within reaching-distance of its 35,000 signature target, with just under 1,500 left to go.