A seventh defendant has appeared at Ipswich Crown Court charged with the murder of Tavis Spencer-Atkins

Before the court via a prison video link on Monday was Connor Smith, 20, of Partridge Road, Ipswich, who is accused of murdering Tavis Spencer-Aitkens in June.

No plea was taken and the case was adjourned until November 5.

Tavis, 17, a former Ipswich Academy student, died in hospital a day after he was attacked by a group of males in Packard Avenue in Ipswich.

Aristote Yenge, 23, of Ipswich, a 16-year-old boy from Colchester, who cannot be named for legal reasons, Callum Plaats, 23, of Ipswich, Adebayo Amusa, 20, of Barking in east London, Leon Glasgow, 42, of no fixed abode, and Isaac Calver, 18, have also been charged with murder in connection with Tavis’s death.

Their trial is due to get underway on November 26.

An eighth person, a 28-year-old man from Ipswich, was arrested on suspicion of murder on September 12.

He was questioned by detectives and released under investigation pending further inquiries.

Following Tavis’s death his family spoke about their grief and heartache. Relatives described him as a well-mannered, polite young man.

The community pulled together in a show of solidarity to organise a knife amnesty in the teenager’s name, with his family leading calls for gang-style violence among young people to stop.

His funeral in July saw hundreds of people gather to pay their respects and express support.

So many mourners attended his funeral that speakers were set up outside St Augustine’s Church in Ipswich so people who could not fit inside the venue could hear the service.

District councillors invested time and money in the Nacton area of Ipswich, opening the Nansen Road Community Centre at the start of the summer and providing free sports and activities to keep children occupied during the school holidays.

There have also been public meetings for officials to hear directly from residents what they want to see addressed in their community, and an increased police presence in the area.