Charity event held in memory of teenager Charlie Cosser stabbed at Sussex party
A charity event has been held in memory of a teenager who was stabbed to death at an end of term party in Sussex.
Charlie Cosser was attacked in a field in Warnham, Horsham on 23 July last year.
The 17-year-old, from Milford in Surrey, who was a talented young footballer, died in hospital from his injuries on July 25.
The inaugural Charlie’s Games, held on Saturday 17 August, was set up at his former workplace for friends and family to honour his memory and to raise awareness of the dangers of knife crime.
The event began with a fun run at Charterhouse School, near Godalming, where Charlie was an apprentice groundsman.
At the main event at Jubilee Field in Milford, eight teams participated in a range of games.
There was also live music, food and drink and an inflatable obstacle course.
Charlie's family, who set up the charity Charlie's Promise following his death, hope it will be an annual fundraising event to keep his memory alive.
ITV News Meridian's Joe Coshan spoke to Martin Cosser, Charlie's father, at the event
Martin Cosser, Charlie's father, said: "This is the community of Milford who have come together, who have all been affected by Charlie's passing.
"The volunteers that have come and given their time have really made it for us as a family and this event is so important because it's the biggest fundraiser, and we need to raise funds to enable me to go out and do the work that I promised Charlie that I'd do.
"It starts off with education. It's the promise I made to Charlie, when he was fighting for his life, that I would spend the rest of my life educating young groups about the dangers and immeasurable impacts of knife crime.
"No one should have to go through what we went through as a family. Absolute torture, and continues to be, so the work that we're going to do involves me and I've already done a number of these chats in schools.
"I tell our story, I talk about the impact on myself, my wife, my children, Charlie's friends, because the sad reality is real life, lived experiences are impactful."We've been moved by the community. It's funny isn't it, you always hear about communities coming together when something tragic happens and it's not until you're living it that you really see it and we have felt that love and warmth from the community. I think today is just evidence of that.
"The amount of people that have come to support us today, they're all digging in deep and you know we've got so many stalls here and I know Charlie would be very proud."
Yura Varybrus, 17, was jailed for life for murder in June with a minimum term of 16 years.
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