Grieving family pay tribute to ‘fun-loving son, living life to the full’ after Mansfield man knifed to death on holiday

Danny Castledine, of Mansfield, was just 22 when he was stabbed to death in Amsterdam.

His family have described Danny as as an outgoing and social young man, who had a huge circle of friends from school, work, football and university.

Paul Castledine, Danny’s father, said his son would always make people smile by affectionately referring to them as ‘duck’.

Danny was in his final year at Leeds Beckett University studying events management, with a dream of working on music festivals.

And Mr Castledine said his son worked at McDonald’s alongside studying, to fund his passion for fashion and designer clothing and love of travel – he had already visited 23 countries.

However, it was one such trip abroad which ended in tragedy, when Danny was stabbed repeatedly in the neck and head in a quiet path beside one of Amsterdam’s many canals on June 1.

A Belgian national, who Danny had befriended, was later arrested on suspicion of Danny’s murder.

Alison Castledine, Danny’s mother, said: “We never thought something like this could happen to us.

“We are completely devastated and struggling to come to terms with our loss on a daily basis.

“Our lives have changed forever and there isn't a minute that goes by when we don't think about Danny.

“He was our world, a fun-loving son, living life to the full who deserved many more years.

“It is unbearable to know he won't get to do all the things he planned – working in events management and continuing to travel the world.”

The family are now fundraising to highlight and tackle knife crime.

Chloe, Danny’s younger sister, decided to set up a small business in memory of her late brother, called DRIPPYlikeDANNY.

She said the name came from the urban slang ‘drippy’, which means cool and stylish.

Chloe has so far designed three T-shirts that are special to Danny in some way and sells them in honour of her brother, with 10 per cent of the proceeds being donated to the anti-knife crime charity, The Ben Kinsella Trust.

She said: “Danny was the other half of my heart and my life has been taken just as much as his.

“I struggle everyday to find a reason to carry on, when I will never hear his laugh again, never have another family holiday or drive Mum and Dad mad acting like we were little kids again.

“No-one loved life more than Danny, he made the most of every moment and had so many things left to do.

“He’ll miss out on the rest of my life, and I will miss out on the rest of his life.

“Nothing will ever make this feeling even the slightest bit better, yet I have to live with it, and without Danny, for the rest of my life.”

Mr Castledine said: “All we can do is work to keep Danny’s memory alive through our DRIPPYlikeDANNY brand and continue fundraising to try to help prevent this from happening to others.”

Following Danny's death, a GoFundMe page was set up by Ashleigh Hufton, one of Danny’s close friends, to raise funds to help prevent knife crime and for victim support – it is close to its £15,000 target.

Ashleigh also set up a charity walk with Danny’s school friend, Nico Leivars – about 70 of Danny's family and friends walked 10 miles to Black Rocks, near Matlock in the Peak District, one of Danny’s favourite hangouts.

Ashleigh said: “My childhood would not have been the same without Danny. He was such a big part of my life growing up and this has left such a big hole in my heart forever.”