A man has been charged with murder after a 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death in Huddersfield.

Police were called to Ramsden Street in the town centre on Thursday and the boy was taken to hospital where he later died from a single stab wound to his neck.

Alfie Franco, 20 from Kirkburton, in West Yorkshire, is due to appear at Leeds Magistrates’ Court later charged with murder and possessing a knife in a public place.

A man and a woman who were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender have been released on police bail, West Yorkshire Police said.

The force said the incident was “not gang related” and has warned the public to be wary of false information.

“We are aware of misinformation circulating on social media, specifically X, regarding the circumstances of the incident and the ethnicities of those involved,” a spokesperson said.

“We are limited in what we can say legally, but what we can advise is the incident is not gang-related or linked to any wider dispute between groups.”

On Friday a crime scene remained in place around New Street and Ramsden Street as officers investigated.

The scene stretched from the borough’s town hall up to the road’s junction with New Street.

West Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Alison Lowe called the teenager’s death “an absolute tragedy” and urged people not to worry.

“Even though we’ve had several young people die across West Yorkshire by knife crime over the last five years, it is still a very rare event,” she said.

Kirklees Council leader Carole Pattison said she was “deeply shocked” by the incident.

She said: “My thoughts are with the family of the victim and everyone who has been affected.”