Mum who's taking on the yobs and winning

Theresa Cave has waged a war on gangs since the brutal death of her son.

Theresa Cave (Pic:Buick/DM)
Theresa Cave (Pic:Buick/DM)

Every day, it seems, there is a new atrocity, another instance of the mindless, drunken violence that is turning Britain's streets and housing estates into dark and dangerous places.

And when a decent, caring family man like Garry Newlove is beaten to death for simply standing up to a gang of feral youths, most of us will wring our hands and draw the curtains.

But not Theresa Cave, whose 17-year-old son Chris was murdered by a member of a violent local gang.

Since his brutal death she has waged a one-woman war, working tirelessly to clean up the Lakes Estate in Redcar, Cleveland.

And she hopes her inspirational campaign will spare other mothers the endless horror of losing a child.

Rather than simply giving in to her despair, Theresa has refused to be intimidated.

She has lobbied MPs, calling for more support for victims and their families. And she has organised council-backed projects for youngsters to stop them hanging around street corners. The death of her bright, hardworking and popular son has inspired Theresa to strive to make a change.

Since that dreadful day in June 2003 when Chris, just starting out as a salesman, was stabbed to death, Theresa has been determined to turn that utterly pointless act of violence into a campaign to clean up her community.

She says: "Chris hated violence and he hated drugs. He would talk to the kids round here on their level and he taught me so much. What I learned from him, I try and put into practice.

"I don't want other mums to suffer like me. We nurture and protect our babies only for someone to take that life away.

Sliced to ribbons or shot in an alley. When did society become so violent?

"I want to put an end to the gang culture which is polluting our streets. I don't want revenge.

That would make me no better than them - I want to do something positive."

Theresa, who is also mum to seven-year-old Thomas, has spent the last four years working closely with both the police and Cleveland Council to communicate with disaffected young people.

Theresa says: "There were groups of kids, some as young as 10, drinking on the streets, being abusive and causing trouble. I put up posters inviting them to my house to talk about a new project.

"Twenty-seven turned up and I took them down to an allotment. I gave them all a patch of land to work on and for the next six weeks those kids gave everything to that allotment. It was incredible.

"They were off the streets and doing something constructive. They were over the moon that they'd been given something to do and someone had trusted them to do it. Now I want more funding to make it a regular scheme."

On Friday Theresa chaired a conference in Redcar, funded by Cleveland Police, where politicians, a former Crown Court judge, police officers and families of victims from all over Britain discussed ways to combat street crime. It was a huge success and she is now planning similar events, convinced that people power is crucial in the fight to reclaim the streets.

She says: "It was the most moving, powerful and intense afternoon I could have imagined.

I walked back home with my MP, Vera Baird, and she's going to feed everything back to Downing Street.

"Pat Regan, whose son Danny was shot five years ago had everyone in tears as she spoke with such dignity.

She works to educate children about the danger of gang culture. If you live by the gun, you die by the bullet. Live by the knife, die by the blade.

"We had a mum whose daughter had been killed just 29 weeks ago. She was still in the very early stages of grief but being with other families and hearing their stories made her break down and let everything out. That's the only way. If you bottle it all up, it turns to poison and rots you inside."

Theresa's own nightmare began when she was woken at 1am by someone banging on her front door. She heard a young man shouting through her letterbox that Chris was hurt and ran from the house to find police cars pulling up on the street.

"There were 10 officers linking arms across the entrance to Chris's friend's flat," says Theresa. "I bulldozed my way through to find Chris lying flat on the stairs, bleeding. He had a two-inch wound gaping open in his chest. I said, very calmly, 'He's gone. He's gone. Someone get me a priest.'"

Chris had been spending the evening at the flat across the road when a gang of local thugs demanded to come in.

"They would prey on young people living on their own," says Theresa.

But Chris refused to let them in. Twenty minutes later they returned to start a fight and as Chris tried to escape he was stabbed through the heart.

Her eyes filling with tears, Theresa says: "My son died in absolute terror. Thinking about his last moments tortures me... in my head I can hear him screaming for me.

"When I got back home that morning the estate was silent but I could feel everyone's eyes watching me.

"The police came round to tell me they'd just made some arrests. But this was nine hours after it happened - the gang had the time to get their stories straight."

In November 2003, 20-year-old Sean Matson was convicted of Chris's murder and sentenced to 12-and-a-half years. None of the other yobs who were there that night were ever charged - something which still upsets Theresa.

Matson has never shown a shred of remorse and Theresa still has to cope with abuse from his associates who live on the estate.

"Matson simply didn't care. I don't know how kids can turn out to be so bad," she says.

"Not one member of his family has ever apologised to me. I thought his mum might have said sorry but there's been nothing.

"There are friends of his who still shout at me in the street. Things like 'fat cow' or they'll stare at me to try and unnerve me. But I won't be intimidated.

"We've all got to stand up to these people otherwise they'll win. The more they go on at me, the stronger I get."

Her MP, Vera Baird, sees that strength in Theresa. "She has proved herself to be an amazingly tough character," says Baird. "She is making such a difference through her determination and strength." But it is the memory of Chris which keeps Theresa going.

She says: "Five hundred kids turned up to say ta-ra to our Chris. That's how much he meant in this area. The girls loved him! When I go to his grave there's always a letter from one of them.

"I talk about Chris to Thomas all the time. He was only three when Chris died and it's important he remembers his brother.

"He comes with me to the grave and sometimes I'll leave him on his own for a while. He'll sit there whispering to Chris, telling him his secrets.

"It breaks my heart, but I've got to carry on for Thomas's sake."

And for Chris's.

Taking it to the children

Be prepared to get out there and fight. You've got to be willing to work - it's pointless sitting back and doing nothing.

Team up with your neighbours. There truly are more good people than bad and together we can make a change.

Lobby the council to back projects for young people. If they are doing something fun and constructive, they often respond brilliantly.

We've got to engage with our youngsters from a young age. Don't leave it too late.

Get to know your local police officers. It's important to build up relationships so you can work together as a team.

Parents need to spend quality time with their children. Don't palm them off with the TV or Play Station.

Get hold of an old car engine for the young lads to tinker a round with.

They might get a bit of oil on their clothes but at least they're not hurting anyone.

There must be more help for victims of crime and their families. The government should invest more money in support groups.

I don't want revenge but we have to stand up against the violence or in the end we all lose


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