When was Ben Kinsella stabbed to death and what has EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella said about her brother’s murder?

BEN Kinsella tragically lost his life in 2008 when he was stabbed to death on a night out in London.

This is what we know about the murder of the teen.

What happened to Ben Kinsella?

Ben Kinsella was stabbed to death aged 16 shortly before 2am on June 29, 2008.

The teenager was on a night out in the Shillibeers pub in Islington, North London, with friends to celebrate the end of their GCSE exams.

Outside in the pub's courtyard area, Osman Ozdemir started an argument with a boy named in court as Alfie who he accused of giving him a wrong look.

The argument escalated with Osman's best friend Jade Braithwate jumping to his defence and threatening Alfie.

Braithwate then rang his friend Michael Alleyne for back up who arrived at the scene with his childhood friend Juress Kika.

As Ben exited the pub with his friends they noticed they were being followed.

Ben stepped off to one side but was cornered by Braithwaite, Alleyne and Kika who stabbed him 11 times.

CCTV footage showed Ben staggering from the scene as he was supported by his friend Louis - actress Linda Robson's son.

Ben lost 30 pints of blood as a result of the attack and later died in hospital with his family by his side.

At the trial in June 2009, Alleyne and Kika were each sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 19 years.

Ben's death lead to a series of anti-knife crime demonstrations and raised the profile of the government's Operation Blunt 2 -a review of knife crime sentencing laws.

What has EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella said about his murder?

Brooke Kinsella, 34, is a soap actress and anti-knife crime campaigner.

She married her long-term partner Simon Boardley in December 2017 and remembered Ben on the day with a locket containing his picture in her bouquet.

The former EastEnders star worked with the writers and cast on the soap to shape the poignant Shakil knife crime storyline.

She is Ben's older sister and the EastEnders storyline marks the 10th anniversary of his death.

Brooke described the soap's decision to take the issue of knife crime as "admirable and very brave" and admits that Ben's loss "feels like yesterday."

Following Ben's death Brooke set up the Ben Kinsella Trust and in 2011 was awarded an MBE for her work in raising awareness of knife crime in the UK.

In May 2018 she said she was "heartbroken" over the UK knife crime epidemic.

What is the EastEnders storyline?

Shakil, played by actor Shaheen Jafargholi, was stabbed and killed by a gang in an episode in May.

His funeral will make history by featuring a real-life element with those affected by knife crime.

The dark knife-crime plot marks the ten-year anniversary of the death of the brother of former EastEnders actress Brooke.

Brooke, who's brother Ben died from stabbing, has been consulting scriptwriters on the storyline.