Boy was chased by gang before fatal tower block fall

A teenager who fell to his death from a block of flats yesterday had been climbing down the outside of the building to escape a gang, police said today. Ahmed Benyermak, who fell from a building on the Trelawney estate in Hackney, east London, may have feared he was about to be attacked with a knife, residents said. The 16-year-old began climbing down from a 13th floor balcony on the block, in Paragon Road, descending six stories before finding his way blocked by a metal grille and losing his footing, police said. Ahmed, who had been due to pick up his GCSE results today, was pronounced dead at the scene at 4pm yesterday. "This is a tragic and unnecessary death," Detective Chief Inspector Ian Stevenson, leading the inquiry, said. "The victim was with a group of friends on the 13th floor of a tower block when they became... [read full story]