KIAN Tordoff and Matthew Page were the best of friends.

With identical haircuts, they did “everything together” and supported each other through thick and thin. 

Bradford Crown Court heard the devastating impact the fateful events of last October have had.

Mr Tordoff, 19, was brutally murdered in the "ferocious" knife attack in Bradford city centre, while Mr Page was also seriously injured and is lucky to be alive.

After a lengthy trial, 17-year-old Sheryar Khan was convicted of Mr Tordoff's murder.

He was also found guilty of the wounding with intent of Matthew Lowther.

Arbaz Khan, 22, of Yew Tree Avenue, Sheryar’s older brother, and Mohammed Adil Hussain, 18, of Kite Mews, Lower Grange, Arbaz's friend, were both found guilty of the manslaughter of Mr Tordoff and guilty of the unlawful wounding of Mr Lowther.

They were sentenced yesterday - read the judge's sentencing remarks in full here.

Mr Tordoff’s death has left his mother Danielle Laycock facing unimaginable grief. 

In a moving statement read out to the court, she spoke of how hers and her family’s lives have not been the same.

She said: “He was not just my son but my best friend, He was my boy, my prince.

“From the moment I became pregnant, our bond was there.”

But her world came crashing down when he was cruelly taken.

“I can remember that horrific morning and so vividly and arriving at the hospital to be told he had died,” she said.

“The feeling of having a child taken from you is like no other. From that day my life and that of my other children has not been the same.”

Ms Laycock spoke of how Kian couldn’t decide whether to go out or not that night - something which still plays on her mind to this day.

She added: “He was always there to support me, help and encourage me, as a family unit we worked well supporting each other. Things will never be the same again. Those responsible for his death have not just stolen his life, but mine too.”

Matthew Page spoke movingly of the bond he and Kian shared.

He said: “What happened on that night has ruined my life. Kian was one of my best friends, we did everything together. Losing him has destroyed me.”

He said he has been unable to return to his own home as it’s too full of memories and said he now suffers with anxiety. Mr Page’s family released a statement after the case and spoke of their anger that three of the defendants - Aizaz Khan, 27, of Yew Tree Avenue, Sheryar and Arbaz’s older brother, Amaad Shakiel, 20, of Leaventhorpe Lane, and Adam Qayum, 23, of Avenel Road, Allerton, walked free after being acquitted of murder and attempted murder.

The family said: “The sentences the other three have received is disgusting.

"They will be able to return home to their family and still be able to make one of their own, while us as a family have now to try rebuild our broken lives.

"We want to stand up against knife crime and make a difference. We don’t want our children to grow up and think they can carry a knife or assist people in committing these crimes and get away with it.”