A mother whose daughter was killed because she was dressed as a Goth made a plea yesterday for teenagers to show more compassion to each other after a 15-year-old boy was found guilty of stamping Sophie Lancaster to death, writes Russell Jenkins.

Miss Lancaster, 20, a distinctive figure in multi-coloured dreadlocks, facial piercings and dark clothes, was set upon as she begged a gang of drunken youths to stop beating her boyfriend, Robert Maltby, 21, in a savage and unprovoked attack.

The five-strong gang acted “like a pack of wild animals” as they first kicked and stamped Mr Maltby, an arts student, also dressed as a Goth, late on a Friday night last August in a skate park in Bacup, Lancashire. As Miss Lancaster was kneeling down cradling her boyfriend’s head several of the gang turned on her.

Brendan Harris, 15, of Bacup, was found guilty of her murder at the end of a two-week trial at Preston Crown Court. A second youth, Ryan Herbert, 16, has already pleaded guilty to the charge. Three other teenagers have admitted causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Maltby.

After the trial the murdered woman’s mother, Sylvia Lancaster, 52, a social worker who helps troubled young people, said that she had set up a charity in her daughter’s name to raise money for workshops and youth clubs.

She said: “If we are to make any sense of Sophie’s death perhaps we should see it as an opportunity to examine how all of us, particularly younger people, can become blinkered. I believe today, more than ever, we need to show respect, compassion and tolerance for those whose appearance and culture differs from our own.”

Miss Lancaster was sharing a flat in Bacup with Mr Maltby when they walked into Stubbylee Park on their way home from a night out at a friend’s house and struck up a conversation with the youths that ended with their being attacked. Miss Lancaster remained in a coma in Hope Hospital, Salford, for almost two weeks. She died on the day that Mr Maltby was allowed to go home. He still has no memory of the attack.

Harris, who threw the first punch at Mr Maltby, admitted that he had drunk two litres of cider, a bottle of Stella Artois lager and swigged from a bottle of pear schnapps.

Michael Shorrock, QC, for the prosecution, had told the jury: “These five teenagers, acting like a pack of wild animals, savagely and mercilessly attacked and beat unconscious, first Robert Maltby and then, as she tried to rescue and help him, his girlfriend.

“This defendant, together with another young man, attacked her and beat her into unconsciousness. It would appear that Mr Maltby and Miss Lancaster were singled out not for anything they had said or done but because they dressed differently.”

Detectives were highly critical of the boys’ parents, who appeared to have no control over them and allowed them to be drunk outside the house so late at night. They were also dismayed when Herbert’s mother was seen laughing and joking with her son while he was in custody.

Detective Superintendent Mick Gradwell said: “There was almost a total lack of parental responsibility. I am very critical of some of the parents involved. I really do not think they have taken completely seriously how repulsive this incident was.”

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