As they remembered their lost loved ones in a poignant minute's silence, two Luton families were united in their sadness and determination to bring something positive out of their grief.

Close relatives of PC Jon Henry, who died after being stabbed in Luton town centre just eight weeks ago, joined members of the Mudhar family at the annual football tournament organised by the Mandip Mudhar Memorial Foundation (MMMF) in memory of the young football-mad student who died after a car crash in 2001.

The tournament always starts with a minute's silence in remembrance of Mandip, but this year his brother Bobby asked everyone present to remember Jon as well.

The MMMF is supporting a campaign which has been launched by PC Henry's sisters - Georgina Henry-Brock, Susan Doherty and Nicky Hopper - calling on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take urgent action to deter criminals from using knives as weapons, before more innocent policemen and civilians are stabbed to death on our streets.

The sisters have logged their petition on the Downing Street website. They are calling for tougher sentences for people convicted of knife crime, and urging the government and everyone in positions of responsibility to tackle the growing problem without delay. If the petition gets 60,000 signatures in six months - by January 9, 2008 - the government must respond.

The police officer's mother Dina and sister Georgina, with her young son and daughter, shared the moving moment with Bobby and with Mandip's parents, Sukhdev and Shindar, and sisters Kiran and Sharon, as well as with representatives of Luton Council of Faiths, and the scores of footballers and supporters who gathered at Playfootball.net at Stopsley High School.

Georgina, a primary school teacher, who is involved in youth football at her home in Leeds where she coaches an under sevens team, later presented the Player and Goalkeeper of the Tournament awards. She said: "To run a tournament like this requires such a lot of hard work, but it is such a fantastic thing to do. You can create such positivity through sport, and we are so pleased the foundation is supporting our campaign.

Bobby Mudhar said: "As a foundation, we have always tried to highlight the importance of creating something positive out of tragedy, and that is what Jon Henry's family are trying to do as well. We will be doing our best to highlight their campaign in everything we do as a foundation."

PC Jon Henry died after he was stabbed in Luton town centre while on duty on Monday, June 11. Ikechukwu Tennyson Obih, 27, has been charged with murder and will appear at the Old Bailey on December 7.

The Henry family is urging the people of Luton to sign up to their petition by clicking here:

For more information about the foundation, click here: