Another family destroyed by knives: Grief-stricken parents' tribute to murdered Harry Potter actor, 18

It was a message from the depths of grief.

The shattered father of stabbed Harry Potter actor Robert Knox warned: 'With knives there are no winners, only losers.



'If you are a person who carries a knife, think about the consequences and, for my son's sake, don't do it.'



Colin Knox and Rob's mother Sally bravely went on TV to speak of their popular, talented son who died as he defended his brother from a knifeman.



Mr Knox told of the explosion of emotion when he heard of the 18-year-old's death in the early hours of Saturday. Now, he said, Sally had 'run out of tears'.

Colin Knox, father of stabbed Robert Knox, is comforted at the scene of his son's death

Sports-mad Rob, who lived in Sidcup, Kent, had just finished work on the new Harry Potter film Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, which is due to be released in November.

He had a minor role as student wizard Marcus Belby and relatives say he had already agreed to appear in the next Potter blockbuster.

His parents said they hoped his screen fame would help sharpen the focus on knife crime.

Mr Knox, 55, who works in media production, said: 'If it serves that purpose, then Robert will have done something else exceptional in his short life.'

Rob's brother Jamie pays tribute Robert Knox, shown here aged 15

Mrs Knox, 50, a Marks & Spencer buyer, added: 'It's impossible to convey the sadness and loss that we all feel, but we now realise Rob touched many people's lives. He was happy, outgoing and a fun person to be with, he was the social hub of his large circle of friends.

'Rob always put everyone before himself, he was always the first person to stand up against wrong. He achieved so much.'

Their younger son Jamie, 17, said by witnesses to have been the initial target of the attack, said: 'My relationship with Rob was a very strong one. We'd do almost everything together and he just took me everywhere he went. He was just my best friend.'

Both parents spoke of their last meetings with their son.

In a tragic irony, Mr Knox's last words were to warn him about the dangers of being caught up in the culture of carrying a weapon,

Fighting back tears, he recalled: 'We had a chat about the problems of people carrying knives and steering clear of problematical little areas that you could put yourself into.'

Describing his son as 'an angel on earth without wings', he added: 'Rob was a very positive guy, nothing was ever a problem and he would turn his hand to anything.

Father Jamie and mother Sally pay an emotional tribute to Rob today



'There was no such thing to Robert as a wall or a fence because they would be climbed or scaled.'

Mrs Knox said she remembered Rob asking her how his hair looked and whether he looked fat in his T-shirt before he went out on Friday night. She said: 'There's so many good memories you can't pick just one. He was just such a happy person.'

Rob was killed, and three other people injured, in a fight outside the Metro Bar in Sidcup.

His friend Lee Howard, 19, who was with him, said: 'A group of friends were in the bar, just having a drink on a Friday night as normal, when word went round that someone was coming down, tooled up with knives.

'Then two men turned up outside. The bouncers didn't seem to search them and then let them into the bar. It kicked off straight away.'

Colin Knox's tribute to his son

Jamie's tribute to his brother

Another friend told how he cradled Rob as he lay dying.

Callum Turner, 18, said: 'He looked into my eyes and said " Callum, I need help, I need you to help me". I knew he was in trouble.

'I laid him down, held his hand and just kept talking to him and trying to keep him calm.

'I knew he was slipping away, it was just so sad. There was nothing I could do to save him.'

In a bleak coincidence, Rob was a member of the same Sidcup rugby club as 16-year-old altar boy Jimmy Mizen, who was murdered two weeks ago in nearby Lee, South East London. The two families liveless than six miles from each other .

Last night Jimmy's parents Barry and Margaret Mizen and their eldest son Danny said they were horrified to hear another young life had been lost in a knife attack.

Danny, 30, said: 'It's all so senseless. We feel for his family.'

Rob, who gained A-levels at Beths Grammar School, Bexley, had been rapidly building a reputation as an actor.

He appeared with Roxanne Ricketts and Nicholas Lyndhurst in the 2007 BBC TV comedy After You've Gone about a family who move to Africa to help the poor.

Colin, Jamie and Sally Knox comfort each other over the death of 18-year-old Rob

Miss Ricketts said: 'He was such a great guy and we had such a laugh. I can honestly say he was one of the nicest people I met and worked with.'

Writing on an internet tribute site, she added: 'I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the news. I am deeply shocked and saddened and my thoughts and prayers are with his family at this sad time.'

Tributes to the teenager piled up at the scene of the murder.

They included a football shirt from his beloved Charlton Athletic and a jersey from his rugby club.

Rob's grandmother Margaret Knox, 79, also visited the spot where he died.

She said: 'He was like a big teddy bear. He always defended those getting a rough deal and befriended them. It was because he was so loving it cost him his life.'

Mrs Knox said she fears respect for life, a belief in politeness and good manners towards other people are at an all-time low in Britain.

She said: 'You hear it so much from the older generation but things like this happen because this country is getting worse and worse.

'Too many young people are becoming parents, they don't know what their kids get up to with knives and drinking and fighting.

'I want every parent who has a teenager to take note of what they are carrying, search them, just try, at least try to put an end to this violence.'

Last night a local man aged 21 was still being interviewed on suspicion of murder.

Rob (right) pictured as a child with younger brother Jamie who described him as 'his best friend'



