A 16-year-old boy was killed almost instantly after he was stabbed in the neck at a crowded New Year’s Eve event, a court has heard.

Harry Pitman had gathered with dozens of other revellers on London’s Primrose Hill to watch fireworks over the Thames on December 31, 2023, when he was allegedly attacked by Areece Lloyd-Hall, now 18.

Lloyd-Hall’s Old Bailey retrial began this morning, with prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward KC saying: ‘Every year, large numbers of members of the public gather on Primrose Hill to celebrate the turning of the New Year.

‘But on New Year’s Eve, 31 December 2023, revelry turned to tragedy in the blink of an eye. Harry Pitman, aged 16, was stabbed once in the neck.

‘He died almost immediately as a result of that single but deadly injury.’

The deadly blow was caused b

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