The events that led Ben first to a police station, then to a courtroom and finally to a hospital bed were complicated, but not uncommon.
He is one of many boys and young men drawn into crime, exploited by criminals, and harmed by the knives that plague the streets of Greater Manchester.
After becoming embroiled with a violent gang, Ben was stabbed. READ MORE: Woman who killed seven-year-old Emily Jones appeals life sentence Weeping beside his hospital bed following the vicious knife attack, his mum told a social worker “just do whatever you can do”.
Now, after starting afresh in another town hundreds of miles from home, the terrified mum has shared her story to warn others about child criminal exploitation (CCE).
Read more on manchestereveningnews.co.uk