Forever tortured by her beloved son's knife killing, Margaret Smith knows more than most the misery blades can bring.
And after another teenage boy was stabbed close to her Newcastle home, the brave mum has issued a stark message to others carrying knives in the city.
Police are still hunting attackers who left a 16-year-old boy with life-changing facial injuries when they set upon him with a blade in Elswick Park last week.
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The incident brought back painful memories for Margaret whose son Mark died after he was stabbed in the neck when he too was just 16.
Today as the 61-year-old tells of her fears that lessons have not been learned from her boy's senseless death in 2007, she has told how she has seen young people carrying weapons in Elswick Park herself, and sometimes even bravely challenges them.
Margaret said: "No one has learned anything from what happened to Mark. It's still happening all the time. I can't put into words how I feel about it. It's so hard to see.
"When I look back over the years and think about all the young people who have been killed I just think it's all such a waste. They are not just ruining their own lives, they are ruining their families' lives, the victim's life and the victim's family's lives and I tell them that."
Margaret’s world fell apart in May 2007 when Mark told her he was going out to play on his friend’s computer, but never came home.
Mark and his 16-year-old killer got into an argument in the street and and Mark swung a punch at the other lad, Newcastle Crown Court heard at the time.
But the boy was holding a kitchen knife, which he sank into Mark’s neck. The blade sliced through a major blood vessel before penetrating a lung.
Mark ran from the scene but collapsed at the junction of Adelaide Road and Caroline Street. He was pronounced dead at 12.20am on May 3 – an hour after he was stabbed.
Mark's killer pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was locked up for just 18 months., while his older accomplice who gave him the kitchen knife was jailed for two years.
In the darkest of days after her son died Margaret did not feel she had the strength to carry on.
But she kept going for the sake of her other children.
Now a grandmother, and living close to Elswick Park, Margaret says she is devastated that the type of knife crime that robbed her son of his life is still going on in her area.
"I've told my daughter to keep out of Elswick Park now because if there's a few of them you've got no chance," she said. "There are in big gangs in the park. They have definitely got weapons on them. I have seen them with my own eyes.
"I think there needs to be patrols across that park."
And Margaret has even approached young people she has seen with weapons in a bid to make them understand the dangers.
"I just say; 'Look son you don't need to do that, it's not worth it, just walk away'," she said. "Because I know first hand what pain that causes.
"It takes a bigger person to walk away."
Northumbria Police is still hunting the attackers who struck in Elswick Park on Friday as their young victim recovers at home.
Officers say the victim was sitting on a bench near the leisure centre when he was approached by two males who attacked him then left the scene.
The boy suffered serious injuries to his hands. forearms and shoulder and potentially life-changing facial injuries.
Chief Supt Helena Barron, who is Northumbria Police's lead for knife crime and serious violence said: “Knives can ruin lives and as a Force, we take a very strong stance on all forms of serious violence.
“We take a proactive approach in identifying offenders and ensuring robust action is taken against anyone found to be carrying a knife.
“I would like to assure our communities we are committed to tackling the issue and ensuring the region is a safe place for everyone.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Northumbria Police on 101 quoting log number 004569T/21.
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