Family of Sunderland teen Connor Brown meet Great North Air Ambulance paramedic who fought to save his life

Eighteen-year-old Connor Brown had been on a night out with friends when he was stabbed after trying to defuse an altercation in February 2019.

A paramedic and two doctors from the Great North Air Ambulance (GNAAS) were sent to the scene in their rapid response vehicle, which operates five nights a week.

They arrived within ten minutes and gave Connor a transfusion to replace the blood he had lost.

After treating his wounds alongside North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) staff, they accompanied Connor to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle in a NEAS road ambulance.

Now Connor’s mum and dad Tanya, 42, and Simon, 52, and 17-year-old sister Ellen have visited the GNAAS base near Eaglescliffe to meet paramedic Marcus Johnson who came to Connor’s aid after the attack.

“Anyone who had the privilege of knowing Connor simply loved him,” said Tanya.

“Everyone he met warmed to his charm. He had a fun filled life and as short as it was, there was never a dull moment with Connor around.

"He always gave 100% in everything he set out to do and would go to the ends of the earth to help someone, whether that be a stranger or someone he loved.”

The family have launched the Connor Brown Trust to help young people and prevent knife crime in the community.

“The aim of the trust is to raise awareness around knife crime, the dangers of knife crime and more so the impact knife crime has on families, perpetrators, and communities as a whole,” said Tanya.

"We aim to educate as many of our young people as possible in a bid to prevent other families going through the heart-breaking day to day life we lead now without Connor.”

She paid tribute to the GNAAS: “The high level of call-outs the service attends proves just how invaluable the service is.

“My son received blood from the blood-on-board scheme which would not have been possible years ago and also the intensive treatment that he received at the scene alone from a team of highly trained professionals in an attempt to save his life.

"We will be forever grateful for the treatment our son Connor received.”

Marcus Johnson said he was pleased something good had emerged from the tragedy: “We attend a lot of stabbing incidents and in the case of Connor, he sadly could not be saved.

"It’s incredible to hear how the family are turning this awful situation into something positive which will benefit the local community.”

GNAAS is dependent on donations to survive and has launched a raffle with a top prize of £10,000 to help it meet rising demand. Tickets cost £1 and are available from the website.

*Leighton Barrass, 20, of Hartside Square and Ally Gordon, 20, of Polmuir Road, both Sunderland, denied Connor’s murder at Newcastle Crown Court in December 2019.

Barrass was found guilty of murder and having a knife in public and jailed for life, with a minimum of 20 years behind bars.

Gordon was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter and having a knife in public and jailed for three-and-a-half years.