Heartbreaking final words of Bristol machete victim Max Dixon to mum as emotional judge pays tribute

Leanne Ekland told the court she was not allowed to hug her son Max after he died as she was told he was a "crime scene". She recalled the moment her heart was ripped out

A mum whose 16-year-old son was murdered has told of the moment she cradled him in her arms as he lay dying while paramedics tried to save his life.

Speaking at the sentencing of one of her son's five killers, the mother of Max Dixon told Bristol Crown Court how she rushed to the road where he was stabbed and held her son as he lay fatally injured on the pavement. Leanne Ekland described hearing a car pull up outside her house and the words "Max has been stabbed", which she initially thought was a joke, believing her son was in bed. She quickly realised he was not and raced to the scene.

She told the judge: "I sat on the ground with Max's head between my legs, telling him to open his eyes. He said he just wanted to sleep. The paramedics were working on him, cutting away at his clothes. He was so pale."

Ms Ekland told how she screamed after being told at Southmead Hospital that her son would not survive his injuries. She said: "We were taken to a room where a doctor came in and said, 'I am sorry...' I didn't let him finish. I screamed and ran out of the room and fell to the floor.

"My heart was ripped out and the pain was unbearable. I knew then my life had been changed and my heart ripped out. I have never felt so much pain. When we were allowed to see Max, we walked in on them trying to save him, then stop and record his time of death. All I wanted to do was hold him and I wasn't allowed because he was a crime scene."

Ms Ekland attended each day of the six-week trial at Bristol Crown Court, including what would have been Max's 17th birthday, when evidence from the pathologist was heard.

She described her son as a "big character" who was funny, kind and caring, and popular among his friends. Speaking directly to 45-year-old Antony Snook, Ms Ekland said: "My son didn't deserve to die and neither did Mason. Our families didn't deserve to go through this. Due to your actions that night, two families have been destroyed. There are no words to describe how much I love my son, no words to describe the pain of losing him. Our family unit has been destroyed."

Today, Snook was the first of five who was sentenced for the two boys murders. He was the getaway driver that helped three boys, 15, 16 and 17, who cannot be named for legal reasons and Riley Tolliver, 18, escape from the scene. They will be sentenced next month. He was given a sentence of life imprisonment and must serve a minimum of 38 year behind bars. Mrs Justice May appeared emotional as she described Max Dixon and Mason Rist as “two good boys from loving homes”.

She praised their families for the “dignity and grace” shown during their attendance at the six-week trial. The judge told the court: “Mason, 15, and Max, 16, had been best friends for a long time. These were two good boys from loving homes with their whole lives ahead of them.”

She described the “burning sense of unfairness of the attack on these two boys” who were walking to get food in their community. “Nothing can undo the dreadful events of that night, or bring Mason or Max back."