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Knife Angel arrival coincides with blade surrender

Pamela Tickell
BBC News, North East and Cumbria
BBC The knife angel. A 27ft-tall (8m) sculpture in the shape of an angel pulling a sad face, made from 100,000 blades.BBC
"One injury, one death, is one too many," Durham Police said

A blade surrender scheme has been announced to coincide with the arrival of the Knife Angel - a sculpture which highlights the devastating effect of knife crime.

The 27ft (8m) statue, made from 100,000 seized blades, will officially be installed in Newton Aycliffe in County Durham on 1 June.

Durham Police has announced a month-long scheme on Monday where of the public can safely surrender knives at the front counters of the Durham City, Bishop Auckland, Peterlee, and Darlington police stations.

Its arrival would be "particularly poignant" after one of the town's teenagers, Jack Woodley, was fatally stabbed in 2021, officers said.

The 18-year-old was attending a funfair in Houghton-le-Spring when he was attacked by ten other teenagers and stabbed.

The ten teenagers were found guilty of murder and sentenced to life with minimum of between eight and 17 years.

It is the first time the Knife Angel, which began touring the country in 2018, has come to County Durham.

The knife angel. A 27ft-tall (8m) sculpture in the shape of an angel with it's hands held out, made from 100,000 blades.
The Knife Angel is made from 100,000 surrendered blades

The Durham Police force area has one of the lowest rates of knife crime in the country, a spokeswoman said.

Newton Aycliffe Neighbourhood Sgt Andy Boyd said: "Even in an area with relatively low knife crime, we cannot afford to ignore it.

"One injury, one death, is one too many."

The surrendered knives will be donated back to the British Ironworks Centre, the creators of the Knife Angel, police said.

An accompanying Durham Police campaign to raise awareness of "the pointless risk, choice, legal consequences and emotional impact on loved ones" of carrying a knife, will see educational programmes also being delivered in schools across the county.

Barney Green, a consultant surgeon at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, is sitting on his knees on a waterproof floor-covering on a football pitch. In front of him are artificial limbs with fake knife injuries and fake blood, which with he is demonstrating how knife injuries look and how to treat them.
James Cook University Hospital consultant surgeon Barney Green has been demonstrating knife injuries and their treatment on replica limbs

New plans to protect young people from being drawn into knife crime have also been launched in the Cleveland Police area.

The scheme, developed by the Cleveland Unit for Reduction of Violence, will be piloted in areas identified as hotspots for serious violence and aims to educate young people, intervene early, and encourage community involvement.

Consultant surgeon at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough Barney Green said "roughly every three days we have somebody coming in to our A&E department who's been assaulted with a knife".

"That's just a crazy, crazy statistic and we have to work hard to change that," he said.

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