Teen sentenced for manslaughter of mate

A 16 year old boy has been handed five years youth detention after he admitted shooting his friend by accident in Liverpool.

Police think Dean Eastham was posing with the gun back in January before it went off, killed 17 year old Louis O'Brien from Huyton.

Eastham admitted the charge of manslaughter.

The parents of Louis, Mark O'Brien and Shirley Spendlove paid this tribute to their son:  "It is the deepest tragedy to lose a loved one in such horrific circumstances.

"Words can't express the pain we feel and there will never be a fitting justice for our son Louis. His life was cruelly and prematurely taken way and our lives will never be the same.

"While we don't condone anyone getting involved in any way with guns, we believe Louis's only crime was walking into the bedroom that afternoon.

"His brother Ben and sister Alex doted on him, they loved their tickle fights and the last pictures we have of them together were taken on Christmas Day, a favourite day for all of our family and something we will always treasure.

"We try to keep his memory alive with the children and are working on memory boxes - we never want them to forget their brother.

He was also a big animal lover and over the years he acquired many pets including three dogs Jip, Macy and DJ, mice, ferrets, and at one point he even had a hawk, which his grandad is now looking after. He was a real animal lover.

"Above all Louis loved an adventure, whether it be on his mountain bike, doing wheelies down the street or going to Carr Lane with his mates, where he'd fish and camp.

"He was also a bit of a daredevil and loved trips to Wales where we (Dad) he would go white water rafting and canoeing. He was always the first to jump in the water and never shied away from a challenge.

His dad said: "We recently had a chat about what he was going to do in the future and we'd started driving lessons together.

"The moment his mum got his provisional license for him, he was on the phone wanting to arrange his first lesson. I think he would have followed in my footsteps and drove for a living.

"Louis had goals and to have his life snatched from us just as it was about to Start is heartbreaking.

"Louis loved playing football and was a big Liverpool fan. One of our fondest memories together was a trip to see Liverpool beat Arsenal at Cardiff for the FA Cup final, with all the lads from the Huyton park.

His mum added: "Louis's death has not only affected his close family and friends but all of the local community. Every day we would visit the local cafe for a breakfast, I can't bring myself to go in to the cafe now but I know they have named a special menu after him, the "OB Special."

"He had a large circle of friends and even now, four months on, I still get visitors nearly every day to see how I am. Louis would talk to everyone and at the time we received so many cards from people I don't even know, which just shows how popular he was in the area.

"I think his death has really shocked everyone here and has brought immense sadness and grief. I would like to thank the local community for all of their words of support.

"Louis was my only son and every day is a struggle without him. Saying I was devastated is not even close to how I'm feeling. I can't put into words the pain I feel at his loss, my world has been shattered."