Hexham stabbing: Boy charged with murder of 15-year-old Holly Newton

A GoFundMe page has since been set up to help her family with funeral costs.

Derek Kennedy, mayor of Hexham, said: "It’s an absolute tragedy, the town is in complete shock, to lose one of our children who attends a local high school is just horrendous.

"Parents are really anxious for the health of their children because they’re all a part of this community, the schools are all really anxious that their children are really feeling the pain and suffering and shock of such an awful incident.

"In the Hexham community we have a very low crime rate, generally, it’s a community that looks after one another, we were awarded the happiest place to live in Great Britain last year.

"It’s a very warm and loving community so for a tragedy such as this to happen, we always find it much more difficult and it’s knocked everyone for six.

"To happen to such a young person and the alleged perpetrator to be a young person, in the high street at 5pm, is just shocking, everyone is just shocked and struggling to come to terms with it, it will ruin so many lives."

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