Murdered: Shakilus Townsend, 16, was stabbed to death after being attacked by a gang

A teenage boy sobbed for his mother as he lay fatally wounded after being stabbed with a 12-inch knife.

Shakilus Townsend, 16, was attacked in the street by a gang of masked youths armed with baseball bats and a knife.

People living nearby tried to save him after the daylight attack, but Shakilus was critically injured and died early yesterday in hospital.

His devastated parents, who last night visited the scene of the stabbing, have paid an emotional thank you to a woman who scared off his attackers and desperately tried to save him.

Nicola Dyer and her husband Derek were in tears as they thanked Sharon Simpson, 47, for running outside when she saw two teenage boys with covered faces beating their son.

Shakilus' stepmother has also come forward in the wake of his death to call for violent teens to be made to join the army.

The 36-year-old, who did not wish to be named, said teenagers who carry out knife attacks should be 'sent to Iraq'.

Slamming British prisons as 'luxury', she added: 'There's no punishment and that's why the children do what they're doing.

'We as parents are very angry because nothing's being done and every single day we're burying a child.'

She said of Derek, the teen's father: 'He's keeping a brave face now but he's taken it very very bad.'

Shakilus was the 18th teenager to meet a violent death in London this year and the 13th to be fatally stabbed.

One theory police are investigating is that Shakilus was lured by a teenage girl into a 'planned and targeted ambush'.

Police believe the schoolboy was led by the girl to a street in Thornton Heath, South London, where he was stabbed in the chest and stomach. They are investigating whether he was murdered following a dispute over a girl.

His parents, Nicola and Derek, and four siblings were said yesterday to be 'devastated'.

Dee Bamina, 35, who lives near the scene of the stabbing, tried to stem the bleeding from a wound to his chest with a bath towel after a neighbour brought him into the communal doorway of her block of flats.

She said: 'I tried to ask him his name and to tell him to calm down and lie down because he was trying to get up and go.

'Shakilus was saying "I don't want to die" and "Where's my mum, I want my mum".'

Crime scene: The entrance to the flats at Beaulah Cresent, Thornton Heath where Shakilus Townsend, 16, was stabbed

Investigation: Police look for evidence at the scene where the 18th teenage murder in London this year took place

She added: 'I think a group of boys must have been after the boy. All I heard was them saying "get him from the other side".'

Richard Higgins, 17, came running down when he heard the screams of his neighbour standing over Shakilus.

He said: 'I thought he had tripped at first then I saw the knife. It was a big kitchen knife. He had stab wounds on his stomach and one big long wound on his chest.'

His mother Matilda Higgins, 43, said: 'I am frightened every time my son leaves the house and I do not breathe until I hear his key in the lock.'

Shakilus, from Deptford, South-East London, was stabbed at around 2pm on Thursday.

Detective Chief Inspector Cliff Lyons said he was the victim of 'a planned and targeted attack'.

The officer added that Shakilus was 'set upon by at least three black males who were part of a group of seven or eight, a black female was also present'.

The group were wearing hooded tops and bandanas so only their eyes were visible.

He was beaten with a baseball bat and stabbed more than once. Two knives were recovered from the scene, police said.

Mr Lyons said: 'This is another senseless incident in which a young life has been taken away by a knife.

'Given that this happened outside a block of flats in broad daylight, I am certain there are people who will have witnessed this murder.

'I would urge those people to come forward and speak to the police to help us bring justice to Shakilus's family and friends.'

Police are also investigating the possibility that Shakilus - who is understood to have been previously known to police - was a member of a gang. Before he died he said he did not know his attackers.

Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks, in whose constituency the stabbing happened, said: 'We certainly need to understand the reasons for this sad spate of stabbings, but there can be no excuses.

'It must be made clear that carrying a knife in suspicious circumstances will lead to a prison sentence.'

This week Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair and London mayor Boris Johnson pledged to continue the struggle against knife crime.

Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson emphasised yesterday that tackling knife crime was the force's 'number one priority'.

He made his remarks as he announced the creation of a dedicated 75-man taskforce to target gang members and their associates in the fight against knife crime.

Speaking at a Metropolitan Police Authority meeting, he said the officers would be deployed to the worst affected of London's 32 boroughs 'with immediate effect'.

Shakilus was attacked four days after 16-year-old Ben Kinsella was knifed to death in Islington, North London. Three teenagers were remanded in custody yesterday charged with his murder.

Later on Sunday, the bodies of French students Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, both 23, were found riddled with knife wounds after a fire at a flat in New Cross, South-East London.

Hamouda Bessaad, 34, who is from Tunisia, was stabbed to death on Old Kent Road, South-East London, on Monday, while Dee Willis, 28, died after a knife attack in Peckham a day later.

Gang chase: The teenage victim was chased by six masked and hooded youths before being stabbed