Lancashire to play host to huge sculpture made from thousands of seized knives

A huge sculpture designed to raise awareness of knife crime is coming to Lancashire later this year.
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The Knife Angel, a statue made from 100,000 seized knives, will be on display in the county throughout November 2021.

The sculpture, created by the British Ironworks Centre to highlight the negative effects of violent behaviour, will be hosted outside Blackburn Cathedral with a schedule of activity to combat knife crime set to take place from November 4-29.

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Blackburn Cathedral, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, the Lancashire Violence Reduction Network and Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden have been working with partners from across Lancashire to bring the Knife Angel to Lancashire and to ensure that the project will benefit the whole of the county.

The Knife Angel sculpture will be in display in Lancashire later this yearThe Knife Angel sculpture will be in display in Lancashire later this year
The Knife Angel sculpture will be in display in Lancashire later this year

A civic opening ceremony, a serious violence conference and a pupils’ conference will form part of the activities planned for the Knife Angel’s month-long visit and a full calendar of events and activities will now be created to ensure that residents and professionals from across Lancashire will have the opportunity to get involved.

Det Ch Supt Sue Clarke, head of the Lancashire Violence Reduction Network said: “While we are thankful that knife crime isn’t as big a problem in Lancashire as it is in other areas of the country, it is really important that we create opportunities to highlight the issue and what we can do to prevent it.

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Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden added: “Knife crime is a blight on our communities and whatever we can do to tackle it is a step in the right direction.

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“While I will continue to work closely with Lancashire Constabulary and our partners to tackle knife crime and bring offenders to justice, I also believe that education and community engagement are important tools in combatting this issue.

“Hosting the Knife Angel will create a number of opportunities that will help us to work with our communities, with local schools and colleges and with professionals to make a difference and to stop people picking up knives in the first place.”

Once in place at Blackburn Cathedral, the Knife Angel can be viewed at any time. Further information about the Knife Angel, its history and the tour can be found on the British Ironwork Centre’s website at https://www.britishironworkcentre.co.uk/show-areas/the-knife-angel-official.