Sophie Lancaster charity still 'grieves' over murder

A charity set up after student Sophie Lancaster was kicked and stamped to death because she was dressed as a Goth has said it continues to "grieve" 19 years after her murder.

The 20-year-old and her boyfriend were attacked by a gang of teens in a park in Bacup, Lancashire, in August 2007 and she died from her injuries 13 days later.

The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, set up by Sophie's late mum Sylvia to fight hate crime following her daughter's death, said: "We must continue to stand together and unite against hatred, prejudice and violence.

"Because when one of us is targeted for being different, the impact reaches far beyond one person. If we don't stand together, it rebounds on us all."

A charity spokesman added: "Sophie is not simply a figurehead or a banner we march behind, she was a person, a daughter, a friend, a sister and a young woman who should still be here with us today.

"We grieve the life that was taken from her.

"And we renew our commitment to continue the work that her mum Sylvia started - to stamp out prejudice, hatred and intolerance everywhere."

Two 16-year-old boys were given life sentences for Sophie's murder in 2008.

Brendan Harris, of Bacup, who denied murdering her, was ordered to serve an 18-year minimum term and Ryan Herbert, of Bacup, who admitted her murder, was ordered to serve at least 16 years and three months although it was later reduced by nine months on appeal.

Herbert was freed in 2022 and Harris was released this year.

The pair attacked Sophie in Stubbylee Park as she begged them to stop beating her boyfriend, Robert Maltby, who was 21 at the time.

The teenagers then turned on her in what the judge who sentenced them described as an act of "feral thuggery".

The court heard they were attacked simply because they looked different.

Three other teenagers, two aged 17 and a 16-year-old were also jailed for the attack on Maltby.

The Sophie Lancaster Foundation was set up by the late Sylvia Lancaster, Sophie's mother, in 2009.

The charity aims to create a lasting legacy to her, challenging prejudice towards alternative subcultures and campaigns to have them protected by UK hate crime laws.

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