Family of James Cook, who died after he was stabbed on Castlegate, Newark, pay tribute to husband and father and raise awareness of knife crime

A devastated family wants to raise awareness of knife crime after losing their husband and father, who had a ‘smile that lit up a whole room’.

James Cook, 40, was found with stab wounds in Castlegate, Newark at 11.53pm on Wednesday last week, and despite the efforts of emergency services, died at the scene. A man has been charged with his murder.

James was married to Adele, father of Lilly-May, 17, Olivia, 16, and 14-year-old Ruby Doodles, and stepfather to Taylor and Greg Kennedy.

Adele said: “He had a smile that lit up a whole room and such a contagious energy.

“The first thing that attracted me to him 18 years ago was how funny he was. He made me laugh all the time.

“He cared for people, but especially he lived for his children.”

“This is the hardest thing a mother will ever have to endure, to sit her three children down and tell them that they are never going to see their dad again.”

He was described as being a workaholic who loved his wife, his children and his mother and also loved motorbikes ever since childhood, as his father had him sit on one at only three months old.

Olivia asked to create a flower and balloon tribute for her dad.

On Friday evening, dozens of people gathered on Castle-gate to pay their tribute to James, who worked as a concrete batcher, and give him ‘the send off he deserves’.

“I have never seen so many people. There were trucks there with all the lights on and the balloons in the air, and I had my car door playing all his favourite songs,” Adele said.

“I was just so happy to see how much everybody loved him, and the support was just overwhelmingly amazing.

“There were so many people that I didn’t know from his childhood that showed up and offered their support, it was a beautiful send-off.”

The family has visited the memorial every day, and on Sunday, Adele took an extra coffee and a rocky road as the couple used to go for coffee and cake every Sunday.

Adele’s sister Ellie Milao has created a fundraising page to help pay for the costs of James’s funeral. You can make a donation to the GoFundme page at https://gofund.me/4482349e

Adele is also hoping to raise awareness of knife crime to help prevent other families from going through what they have been through.

“We don’t want any flowers, we want to raise awareness of knife crime,” she said.

“More needs to be done about knife crime.”

“We have been robbed, my children have been robbed of their dad, and we’re all just lost.”