Wellingborough community ready to welcome Knife Angel

This weekend sees the visit of the iconic Knife Angel statue to Wellingborough, where it will form the centrepiece of a fundraising community fun day campaigning against violence and aggression.

Off the Streets NN, the community action group set up in the aftermath of the death of a Wellingborough teenager, will welcome the 27ft tall statue made from knives and weapons seized by England and Wales’ 43 police forces.

A fun day on Old Grammarians Sports Fields will be the destination for a peaceful march from Shelley Road basketball courts on Saturday, May 14, starting at 11am.

Rav Jones, NN Off The Streets co-founder, said: “Off the Streets has worked with the crime commissioner’s assistants to arrange the erection of the Knife Angel in Wellingborough on May 14. There will also be a march and community event to support this moment. The knife angel will be displayed for a few hours at the Old Grammarians Rugby Club in Sywell Road between 12pm and 3.30pm with our community event to continue until 5.30pm.”

The angel has been standing outside All Saints’ Church in Northampton since April 29 - a sobering reminder of knife crime’s horrific impact on individuals, families and communities.

Wellingborough’s stop-off visit by the angel has been welcomed by MP for Wellingborough Peter Bone.

He said: “I am delighted that the Knife Angel statue will be coming to Wellingborough on Saturday to raise awareness of this important issue. I would like to thank Off the Streets for their fantastic campaign to tackle knife crime in Wellingborough and I hope as many people as possible will join me at this incredible event to support their work.”

The visit has been coordinated by C2C Social Action with support from North and West Northamptonshire Councils, police, fire and crime commissioner Stephen Mold and Northamptonshire Police.

Angie Kennedy, chief executive officer of C2C Social Action, said: “Off the streets are doing amazing work with the community. The Knife Angel visit and community event will have a huge impact and raise much needed funding for bleed kits for the local area. It's a real privilege to work with this team.”

Neighbourhood Policing Sergeant Chris Stevens said: “We are very pleased to be welcoming the Knife Angel to Wellingborough and its arrival in this town is a result of the hard work of numerous people who have made this happen.

“The angel is a hugely visually impactive reminder that knife crime is an issue across the whole country and that more work needs to be done to tackle it.

“We hope the arrival of the angel will allow us to continue the meaningful discussions that have been taking place and the work going on with our partners in order to reduce these numbers further and to educate people about the dangers of knives.”

Mr Jones added: “We are so happy that this visit to Wellingborough is secured, so to everyone in the town and surrounding areas please join us in a fab day out centered around this monumental visit.

"Our key objective is for everyone to have fun but also recognise change doesn’t happen unless we all work together.”