I will not let bitterness destroy us, says mother of 'perfect son' murdered Jimmy Mizen

Arriving at a memorial service for the popular 16-year-old, Margaret Mizen spoke of how her faith had given her strength to deal with the tragedy of Jimmy's death.

Her son bled to death last Saturday after allegedly being slashed across the throat with a glass dish during an argument in a bakery.

And she urged people not to blame the family of the youth who has been charged with killing her son.

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"Anger breeds anger, and bitterness will destroy my family if I'm not careful – and I won't allow that to happen," she said.

Altar boy Jimmy, a devout Roman Catholic, died in his brother's arms after the unprovoked attack in Lee, South-East London.

Mrs Mizen and her husband Barry arrived at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church, where Jimmy served as an altar boy, with the teenager's brothers and sisters.

The family comforted each other and were surrounded by hundreds of friends and well-wishers.

More than 500 people packed into the church and hundreds more stood outside in the pouring rain. Crying as they huddled under umbrellas, they listened to the service as it was relayed through speakers.

Mrs Mizen, 55, said Jimmy was born on Cup Final day in 1992 and described him as a 'gorgeous baby', and added that her sister had recently summed up Jimmy by describing him as "every mother's perfect son".

She said her faith had helped her cope with her grief.

"Without the faith I have, I would not be standing here now – I would be crumbling. The whole community has rallied around and I'm just so blessed."

As she spoke, two teenagers were in a critical condition after being stabbed during a fight early yesterday.

The two 19-year-old men, who knew each other, were injured outside a nightclub in the Brick Lane area of East London.

The stabbings add to the toll of 100 such incidents that have taken place in London this year.

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Mr Mizen, 56, fought back tears as he called for efforts to end the culture of violence.

He said: "It does not have to be like this. Sometimes we might be drawn into certain ways of living.

"Perhaps we all need to look at ourselves and look at the values we would like, and our responses to situations in our life.

"It is our choice, but change has got to come from all of us."