13/09/2026
Ten years ago, Ricky Hayden stepped outside his Romford home in the early hours of the morning to protect his family and his home from two men who were trying to steal his little brother’s moped.
Ricky was wearing only his boxers when he was stabbed multiple times.
He was rushed to hospital and given three blood transfusions before suffering a heart attack. He was then airlifted to London, where surgeons had no choice but to amputate his leg.
At 11.41pm that night, Ricky died from his injuries.
When I was a reporter at Essex Live, I asked Ricky’s mum, Suzanne, if she would trust me with her son’s story and sit down with me for an interview as part of a new knife crime campaign we were planning.
She did.
Her courage was incredible. She spoke so clearly. She remembered every second.
And she had one main goal: to keep Ricky’s name alive.
Sadly, knife crime continues to devastate families across the country.
Behind every statistic is an innocent, caring family like Ricky’s — people like Suzanne whose lives will never be the same again.
The motto for that EssexLive campaign in 2019 was ‘Enough is Enough’.
Seven years later, when will enough finally be enough?
I promised Suzanne that day that I would always do my best to keep Ricky’s name alive.
I’m keeping that promise today.
RIP Ricky 🙏
