Shropshire-created Knife Angel arrives at Telford’s Southwater Square

The Shropshire-created Knife Angel will be welcomed to Telford today (Saturday) with an unveiling ceremony for its stay in Southwater Square during March.

Telford Mayor Councillor Stephen Reynolds will unveil the statue with Clive Knowles, chairman of the British Ironwork Centre in Oswestry which launched the Save A Life Surrender Your Knife campaign with the statue made by their talented sculptor Alfie Bradley.

The central location will allow the Angel to become a pivotal focus for visitors and Telford locals alike to view the Angel and its surrounding educational material throughout the month.

Yesterday morning the Angel left Gateshead in Northumbria to travel to Telford.

During its stay in Gateshead, the Angel was located in Performance Square opposite the Sage. There, the Angel benefited tens of thousands of people, including schools and youth groups, through the educational anti-violence workshops and awareness programmes conducted during its visit. The police amnesty and surrender conducted as part of the region’s hosting is now being evaluated and considered with regards to the success obtained in making the youths of the area think twice about carrying a knife.

Gateshead’s project was spearheaded by a mother affected by knife crime, having lost her daughter tragically to an improvised attack by someone her daughter didn’t even know. This courageous lady, Alison Madgin, and her daughter Carly encouraged the partnership of all the city’s services to work together, making this another great community effort in bringing about 28-days of youth anti-violence education. This is something the region has never done previously and now these same partners are working positively towards creating a raft of legacy initiatives that will carry on long after the Angel’s departure to Telford, ensuring that the youth of the North East continue to get the best advice and leadership possible in discouraging violent and aggressive behaviour.

Telford medical industry experts SP Services, which supplies first aid, medical, ambulance, paramedic and emergency rescue equipment and emergency woundcare and haemostatic agent specialist CeloxTM Medical, are calling for members of the public and first aiders to attend its bleeding control demonstrations at the unveiling.

The Knife Angel will officially be unveiled today from midday in Southwater Square.