Wellingborough community fun day and march will welcome Knife Angel

A community action group set up in the aftermath of the death of a Wellingborough teenager will welcome the Knife Angel, an iconic 27ft tall statue made from knives.

Off the Streets NN will host the Knife Angel at a fun day on Old Grammarians Sports Fields with the sculpture being the centrepiece and endpoint for a peaceful march from the town.

The march will start the event at 11am from Queensway fields, Shelley Road basketball courts to Old Grammarians Sports Fields on Saturday, May 14.

The statue, designed by Alfie Bradley at the British Ironwork Centre (BIC) in Oswestry, has been created from more than 100,000 knives and blades confiscated by the UK’s 43 police forces.

Off the Streets NN co-founder Ravaun Jones said: "We are humbled that the Knife Angel statue will also be here for a while following a short peaceful march.

"This statue is a piece of modern-day history in the making. The celebrations will continue and we have a variety of entertainment planned along with plenty of activities for children."

The Knife Angel will be on display in Northampton town centre at the All Saints’ Church plaza for two weeks from Friday, April 29 to Friday, May 13.

It will then be transported to Wellingborough as the special guest centrepiece for the march and fun day.

First unveiled in 2017, it travels around the country in a bid to help reduce violent crime, hosted by organisations highlighting the devastation caused by knife crime and raising awareness.

The Off the Streets community day will take place at the Wellingborough Old Grammarians Memorial Sports Field in Sywell Road from 11am to 5.30pm.

Mr Jones said: "We have an amazing day planned with live entertainment, bouncy castles and plenty of family activities. You can pack up a picnic or take advantage of the food available to purchase on the day.

"We urge the community to come together and show their support whilst having a great fun family day.

"Our key objective is for everyone to have fun but also recognise change doesn’t happen unless we all work together. We very much want to bring our Together We Stand movement to life.

"A huge thank you goes to C2C Social Action, North Northamptonshire Council and Northamptonshire Police for helping to make this day happen."