'There's nothing worse than shielding a cowardly child killer'

But the bustle of the jumble sale was shattered with the horrific news of the “frenzied and vicious” stabbing of a schoolboy.

Keith Lyon, a talented musician and Brighton and Hove Grammar School pupil, had decided not to join his father Ken and younger brother Peter at the sale.

Instead he was given some pocket money because he wanted to buy an instrument for his geometry set, and he set off into Happy Valley towards Woodingdean.

Then between 3pm and 4pm on Saturday, May 6, the 12-year-old was brutally stabbed to death and what little money he carried had been stolen.

The news was devastating for his father Ken, an RAF D-Day veteran and dance band leader who was set to play at the Brighton Metropole Hotel, and his mother Valda.

Meanwhile his younger brother Peter, who was seven at the time, remembers the men in long overcoats coming to the door, and his father collapsing in tears.

Read more on this story: Brother of murdered schoolboy continues his fight for justice

A murder inquiry was launched, led by Detective Superintendent Roy Yorke from Scotland Yard.

Hundreds of volunteers scoured the bridle path for clues and joined 70 police officers in the search.

A temporary police incident room was set up in the office of Woodingdean Primary School with headmaster Major Noel Hagard to co-

ordinate efforts.

Attention quickly turned to the buses, as there was a bloodstain found on board the Number 6, which used to serve Woodingdean from Brighton.

It had been spotted by the driver, named as L Coombs, who worked for the Brighton, Hove and District Omnibus Company.

The Evening Argus front page report the following Monday noted: “The bus stopped a few hundred yards from where Keith’s body was found and it is possible that the killer, who may have been bloodstained, boarded the bus to escape the area.”

It is understood the knife believed to be the murder weapon was found as police brought in metal detectors.

Anxious parents escorted their children to school in both Ovingdean and Woodingdean that week.

Ken Lyon was in shock.

He told the Evening Argus: “He was a wonderful boy. He did not have a lot of friends here in the village because he went to the grammar school and none of his school pals live here.

“He and I and my other son were out in the village together on Saturday morning. There were a lot of strangers about, attracted to the village by the jumble sale, no doubt, because they might get some cheap bargains.

“After lunch my other son and I went down to the sale. I asked Keith if he was going with us, but he said ‘I don’t like those things, I am going for a walk, I am going to buy something for my geometry set’.

“I gave him his pocket money and off he went.”

Meanwhile, readers were told about “the boy who loved music”, who was both a “quiet and clever boy”.

He was described as a “sturdy lad”, 5ft tall with brown hair and blue eyes. He had been wearing a white shirt, blue pullover, grey flannels and his green, red and white school tie.

Keith was said to have inherited his father’s musical talent and was an accomplished pianist.

His music teacher Gwen Wyn had taught him for five years and he had passed his examinations with the Royal College of Music.

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She said: “He was brilliant, he practically taught himself. He had a most amazing musical ability.

“Keith was a quiet lad, positive in his ideas and he was a happy little boy. He liked Bach and his favourite composer was Mozart.”

A picture showed him playing the electronic organ with his father, but he also harboured an ambition to become a scientist, which gives some clue as to why he wanted an instrument for his geometry set.

But it was a mystery why he was walking on the Downs.

Witnesses reported seeing a group of boys “sparring” on the path, but no one has ever been brought to justice for Keith’s death.

His younger brother Peter, who lives in Thailand, made a plea at the scene in 2007, and said: “For God’s sake, now is the time to come forward.

“There is nothing worse than shielding a cowardly child-killer.”