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Grieving mother pays tribute to 'beautiful son'

Pa
Friday 20 June 2008 10:20 EDT
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The mother of murdered teenager Jimmy Mizen today paid tribute to her "beautiful son" at his funeral.

Margaret Mizen, 55, held back tears as she remembered her "gentle giant".

She told hundreds of mourners gathered for the service in Lee, south-east London: "I never told him off. Apart from saying put your socks in the dirty washing basket.

"I can't believe we are here now. He really was a beautiful son."

Her husband Barry, 56, told the congregation at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church that the 16-year-old was "a lovely boy" who had his mother's smile.

"I have some really good memories and I will keep them always.

"I think with Jimmy I don't have any regrets about what we spoke about or about saying anything to Jimmy. Maybe for longer, but I don't regret ... he was a lovely boy."

He added: "There has been a lot of talk about Jimmy's smile and I know where he got it from. The first thing that attracted me to Margaret was her beautiful smile."

Jimmy's six brothers each made a personal tribute to him during the service. His five older brothers Danny, 30, Billy, 28, Tommy, 26, Bobby, 24, Harry, 18, and nephew James, 19, acted as pallbearers while his younger brother George, eight, carried a picture of Jimmy in his football kit as the family walked behind the hearse to the church.

Family members embraced as the procession passed the Three Cooks bakery where Jimmy was stabbed in the neck in a vicious assault last month.

His sister Samantha, 21, who has Down's syndrome, laid a bouquet of flowers at the scene.

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