A 17-YEAR-OLD boy has been jailed for stabbing a teenager to death in the street.

The boy, from St Leonards, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to nine years in custody.

He had been charged with murder which he had denied, but following a trial, a jury found him guilty of manslaughter of Connor Ansell

The teenager appeared for sentencing at Hove Crown Court.

Jack Cunnion, 18, of Essex Road, St Leonards, who was also charged with murder, was found not guilty by the jury.

The court heard how, on the evening of Saturday, November 18 2017, Connor went out to meet a friend in town.

As he headed to Battle Road, he was involved in an altercation with the teenage boy, who was known to him.

The teenager stabbed Connor in his side with a knife which had a 25cm blade and 10cm handle. A passing driver, who saw the incident, stopped and shouted out, which made the boy and Jack Cunnion, who was with him, run off.

They left Connor fatally injured on the ground. The victim got up and tried to run but collapsed in Upper Church Road.

Connor told the passing driver he had been stabbed. She then called emergency services.

Connor was able to tell police who stabbed him.

Connor was taken by ambulance to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton where he suffered a cardiac arrest and was then rushed into theatre to undergo surgery.

He was put on life support but died on the afternoon of Friday, November 24.

During the investigation police discovered the knife and the boys’ clothing in a bin. They then arrested them both.

After the case, Connor’s mum Michelle Hitchman said: “The death of my son has caused much heartache and self-destruction, not just to myself but to everyone who knew him. Connor was a loveable rogue and a free spirit.

“He was loving and caring and he would do anything for anyone. Our hearts will forever be broken and I will forever mourn the loss of my son.

“I wish for us to be alone in peace to grieve.”

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