On November 14, 2000, Lynne Booker's world crumbled as she heard her teenage son had been knifed to death. Five years later she is planning to form a self-support group for other mothers who have suffered similar tragedies. PAUL REVEL reports ...

THE memory of being told 19-year-old Terry had been killed is so vivid it could have been yesterday. Mrs Booker, was at home when her grown-up daughters Lisa and Debbie arrived to tell her Terry had been stabbed and had died on his way to hospital.

A 16-year-old boy had attacked him with a kitchen knife in an argument over a girl.

The grandmother-of-three said: "It's still so vivid, you never forget. I just cried: No!' I couldn't accept it. I still don't really. Sometimes I still think he's going to walk round the corner. He was everything to me.

"I was numb and my heart was broken, my life was finished. Losing any child is terrible but when your child is murdered it's just unspeakable."

The trial, which was held the following September and saw the 16-year-old convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, was another major ordeal.

She said: "I had to listen to the pathologist talking about how the knife entered his body and the damage it did. I had to re-live it.

"And the boy had no remorse at all. I sat there looking at him, such a mixture of feelings running through me. He had killed my baby.

"He should have got life imprisonment. I am sure all mums would feel that way. I can't bear to think about how I will feel when he gets out."

The next three years were traumatic for Woolwich resident Mrs Booker as she battled to come to terms with Terry's death.

But she eventually found help through counselling organised by the Greenwich Women's Centre.

"Before then I was in pieces for three years. I didn't talk, I didn't want to leave the house. I felt guilty if I ever smiled or laughed."

She added: "My counsellor, Jane, was an angel. I started to feel I should be getting on with things."

After 12 months of consideration, she has decided to form the support group, which will be called the Terry Booker Foundation.

"Two months ago someone approached me saying she didn't know how to help a friend whose son had committed suicide.

"I thought, this is it. I must do this, there are bereaved mothers out there who need help and can help each other."

It has given her a purpose and the opportunity to do something valuable, which she hopes will be a lifeline for other bereaved mums.

She added: "Terry still lives in my heart and now his name will live on as well, for something really worthwhile."

Lynne also finds solace in Terry's four-year-old son, who was only eight weeks old when Terry was killed.

"Mason is a wonderful little chap. I see him all the time, he's a lovely boy."

She added: "He's doing OK. He's far too young to understand what really happened to his dad.

"He goes to the cemetery with his mum. He knows he's visiting his daddy but it's not yet time for us to explain."

If you are a bereaved mother and want to find out more about the Terry Booker Foundation support group or are interested in helping with fundraising, call 07946 588811 or email lynnebilla@yahoo.co.uk For information about services offered by Greenwich Women's Centre, call 020 8317 4141.