Football club hosts Knife Angel in national first

A grass roots football club has become the first to host the Knife Angel national monument, with the hope it will "leave a legacy", according to its chairman.

The 27ft (8m) sculpture - made from 100,000 amnesty-sourced weapons - has been placed on Palace Green in Ely, Cambridgeshire, directly facing the city's cathedral.

Jonathan James, chairman of Soham Town Rangers Football Club, said the intention was to "use football as a force for good to help educate young people about the dangers of knife crime and violence".

It comes as Cambridgeshire Police start a week-long weapons amnesty, with bins in place across Peterborough and the county.

Last year, the force said 98 weapons or knives were handed in during the annual amnesty across Cambridgeshire.

The visit of the sculpture has been organised by the club, the police, the office of the police and crime commissioner, the county council, East Cambs District Council and Ely Cathedral.

Volunteers from the community group Mens' Shed created a special picket fence around the artwork.

The Knife Angel has been touring towns and cities across the UK, and Ely marks it's 55th stop.

Cambridgeshire Police Chief Constable Simon Megicks said the arrival of the Knife Angel gave people "the opportunity to reflect, think about and talk about the horrors of knife-carrying in this county".

"Here is Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, although we have lower knife crime than the national average, we've been touched by some significant and really damaging crime," he said.

"What I would say to those who carry a knife is - it makes you more susceptible to being stabbed yourself.

"It doesn't make you safer, it doesn't give you any kudos or credibility. It actually makes you look weaker."

Police and crime commissioner Darryl Preston described knife crime as "a scourge that impacts our young people far more than any others".

Jonathan James added: "Knife crime is a choice - violence is a choice - and it's our intention to educate young people that knife crime, carrying a knife and violence are the wrong choice."

Tammy Swiderski, a community fundraiser from East Anglian Air Ambulance, said the Knife Angel brought an "incredibly powerful" message.

"It's one of hope, of inspiration - and of remembering those who have lost their lives.

"Hope that things can change, and inspiration that the younger generation have the opportunity to make those changes."

Quinton Green, a professional youth mentor and founder of Knife Crime Victim Support, said the Knife Angel was "a powerful monument" that could "open dialogue".

"It's not just the immediate victim who is impacted, but it can be the family and the wider community," he said.

"The Angel gives us that opportunity to speak - and gives young people and adults that push towards change."

The Knife Angel can be seen in Ely until 17 June.

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