'It won't be a deterrent': Shawn Seesahai's family criticise sentences given to killers, 13

Their comments come after two 13-year-olds were detained for life with a minimum of eight years and six months for the brutal killing with a machete in November last year, when they were both 12.

Shawn - who had been in the UK for just a few months after coming to the UK from his native Anguilla with his family - was repeatedly stabbed at Stowlawn playing fields in Bilston in November and died of his injuries, which included a knife wound to the heart and a skull fracture.

In a statement issued through the Government of Anguilla, they said: "Whilst the family recognise that today justice has been served in respect of the horrific murder of their beloved son Shawn, they are disappointed with the sentence.

"Shawn’s life was violently taken away at the hands of individuals who were knowingly carrying a machete, which they used to violently kill their beloved son.

"No one hearing the details of this case could feel anything other than horror at the violence that took place that evening, where Shawn was stabbed in the heart and kicked in the head on the ground.

"The family had hoped that the sentence handed down would reflect this abhorrent violence.

"Whilst they recognise that three young lives have been destroyed, they alone have lost their son forever, and they do not feel the sentence reflects the loss they have suffered daily since their son was murdered.

"If low sentences are given it will not be a deterrent to other children who carry knives.

"This is now a social crisis. Children carrying knives must be addressed by everyone, so Shawn’s life is not taken in vain.

"It takes a village to raise a child."

Speaking after the sentencing at Nottingham Crown Court, Chief Superintendent Kim Madill from West Midlands Police described the killing as having "a huge impact on us all, it is both shocking and saddening".

She continued: "The impact of knife crime is devastating no matter where you live in the country, this is an issue that affects us all.

“Much work has been done and we have had successes in some areas, however, this is clearly not enough.

“We are listening to families affected by knife crime and acting on their feedback to see what more we can do with partners to stop the devastation caused by knife crime.

“Our responsibility is to work together with partners to understand why children and young people think it is OK to carry weapons and take further action to stop this extremely dangerous behaviour.”

The child killers are believed to be the youngest defendants convicted of murder in the UK since Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both aged 11, were found guilty in 1993 of killing two-year-old James Bulger.

Neither can be named because of a court anonymity order.