A Birmingham schoolboy killed by a grenade thrown into a flat was a kind and hardworking boy who had just celebrated his eighth birthday, his father says.

Yuusuf Warsame died in the blast in Gothenburg, Sweden, in the early hours of Monday during a trip to see relatives.

Abdiwahid Warsame described how his wife, Yuusuf's mother, had cradled their son in her arms as he died.

"When I heard the news I had to sit, I could no longer stand up," he said.

"My wife's heart is broken. She told me that he died in front of her. She was covered in his blood."


Mr Warsame said: "I had been speaking to Yuusuf on the phone two days before and he asked me when I was coming. I told him the next day."

Image: The scene at the flat in Gothenberg

He said Yuusuf was a kind boy, a hard worker who liked school and sports - and was especially good at swimming.

Police are investigating the possibility the grenade was thrown as a revenge attack in a gangland feud.

Mr Warsame said he did not expect Sweden to be connected with violent crime and explosions.

He also said it was a "miracle" more of his family had not been killed.

Yuusuf had celebrated his birthday on 15 August, two days after flying to the country with his brothers, sisters and mother to see relatives.

Image: Yuusuf was visiting Sweden with his brothers, sisters and mother to see relatives

He was sleeping in the living room of the third-floor flat - close to his sister Aisha, nine, and little brother Ahmed, five, when the device was thrown inside - reportedly through an open window.

Emergency services were called at 3am and found several adults and at least five children inside, one seriously injured.

Mr Warsame, a father of seven and a Dutch citizen, said his other sons, aged 14 and 16, were asleep in another room when the grenade exploded.

Yuusuf was a pupil at Nelson Mandela Primary School in the Sparkhill area of Birmingham.

The investigation has been classified as a murder/manslaughter, according to Sweden's The Local website.