A COURT has heard powerful statements from the families of two young men who died following a town centre stabbing.

Rashane Douglas, 19,  is today being sentenced at Bradford Crown Court for the murders of Joshua Clark and Haidar Shah in Halifax town centre in October last year. 

Rachel Clark, Joshua's mother, spoke movingly about the devastation of losing her son. 

She said: "The statement I'm about to share only scratches the surface of the profound effects of loving my beautiful Josh."

Ms Clark said she gave birth to him at 17 and  "cannot remember life before him" and that he'd given her the "proud title of mum, something I'll never hear again". 

Asian Image: Rashane DouglasRashane Douglas (Image: West Yorkshire Police)

"Josh was not just my son, he was also my best friend, we would laugh and joke together," she told the court.

"Now my life feels so dark and empty."

She said Josh's life had been "ripped away from him by a brutal killer".

"The cruel actions of one individual didn't just take away my beloved son, but also shattered my sense of self, I lost my identity as a mother," she said. 

"That morning plays in my mind incessantly, haunting my dreams.

"My son's injuries were so catastrophic he was unable to be saved."

She continued: "My last memory of Josh was laid on a trolley in a body bag in a mortuary."

She said losing her son has impacted every single aspect of her life and said: "As a police officer my main duty is to protect people and as a mother it is to protect your child and it tortures me I could not fulfil either of those roles that morning."

Ms Clark said she had been promoted to police sergeant, but Josh's death has ruined that and she is not sure if she will ever return. 

She described Douglas as a "barbaric murderer" and she is the one serving a life sentence. 

Yasmin Begum Shah, speaking about her son Haidar, told the court: "I constantly question if this is real, where is my son Haidar, I am destroyed, I am confused."

"I do not want to live another day without the handsome young man I had in my house for 19 years."

All she has left is his clothes and the football trophies he was so proud of, she told the court, adding that she has health conditions that she takes medication for, but is no longer bothered.

"The sooner I die, the sooner I can be with Haidar," she said.

"My neighbours said I should be proud because my son was a G O A T - greatest of all time."

His brother told the court: "I think about Haidar's last moments quite a lot, and how he was feeling at that moment, was he confused, in pain, was he at peace in that moment."

"He was loved by a lot of people, I think about the future, I will get married, have children, and Haidar will not be there."