A LOCAL community activist attended a fundraising ball for the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust.

Miranda Grell, vice chairwoman of the Leyton and Whipps Cross Community Council, was invited to the Diamond Fundraising Ball at the Dorchester Hotel in Park Lane by the Greater London Assembly Member for Waltham Forest and vice chairwoman of the trust Jennette Arnold.

Last year the event raised £70,000 for the trust established in memory of Stephen Lawrence, a black teenager from south east London, who was murdered in a racist attack in 1993.

The murder provoked a national outcry, a public inquiry and the Macpherson report into institutional racism'.

Although no one has been convicted of his murder, it is thought the Double Jeopardy Law introduced by the Government in 2001 was a response.

Stephen's parents, Doreen and Neville Lawrence, set up the trust in 1998 to support young people like Stephen, an A-level student who had dreams of becoming an architect.

Ms Grell contributed to the fundraiser to raise money for a new Stephen Lawrence Centre in Deptford.

The centre, due to open next year, is to be a hub for community education and will promote the architectural profession to young people in depreived communities.

Mrs Lawrence told Ms Grell she hoped young people in Waltham Forest would use the centre to achieve their goals.

Ms Grell said: "Meeting Doreen Lawrence was an extremely moving experience. I was only three years younger than Stephen Lawrence and remember the day he died as though it was yesterday.

"I was honoured to be invited to participate in the fundraising ball and will do my best to raise awareness of the centre in Waltham Forest."

For more information about the trust log on to www.stephenlawrence.org.