The parents of 15-year-old Quamari Serunkuma-Barnes have called for "adult" sentences for teenage killers to force young people to realise carrying knives is "not worth it".

Lillian Serunkuma and Paul Barnes, from Muswell Hill, north London, spoke as their son's 15-year-old killer was locked up for at least 14 years .

Mr Barnes said: "The reason I wanted it a bit longer was just to deter these kids from picking up a knife and using it on another boy."

The case of Quamari Serunkuma-Barnes

"Half the time these boys have arguments and usually it's something trivial," he added.

With stiffer sentences, young people would think "it not worth it, let's have a water fight instead", he said.

Quamari Serunkuma-Barnes was stabbed three times by his school gates

He went on: "As far as I'm concerned if you are dong an adult crime you deserve an adult sentence.

"You hear he's a kid he's a kid. You have murdered someone. If you do that, in my eyes, you are not acting like a kid."

Ms Serunkuma described Quamari as a "lovely boy, very warm, very loving, very funny" who had nothing to do with gangs.

The victim was known as a "hard-working" 15-year-old

She told the Press Association that her son, who was a big fan of the late Jamaican reggae star Bob Marley, was also "extremely" loud, adding: "You always knew he was there."

He was hard-working and aimed to get "top marks" in his GCSEs before he was stabbed at outside the gates of Capital City Academy, in Willesden, north London, on January 23.

On the influence of youth culture and rap music on young minds, Ms Serunkuma said there were many reasons for knife crime but they were not factors in her son's murder because it was not gang-related.

An artwork left outside the school gates in tribute to Quamari

She said: "This was a young boy who took it upon himself to take a knife to do damage to someone.

"That's his action. It was not a gang-related decision."

On the defendant's admission of guilt following his conviction at the Old Bailey, she said: "I appreciate he's done it but it is a little too late."

Mr Barnes added: "We had to go through hell.

"To say that at the last minute, personally, I'm not having it. He could have said that on January 24."

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