Knife Angel brings strong anti-violence message to Newtown

The anti-knife crime sculpture will take its first trip across the Welsh border on Friday, travelling to Newtown for its official unveiling at midday on January 4.

It will stand outside the Oriel Gallery in the park during January and the councillor behind its visit hopes it will send out a strong anti-violence message.

Councillor Joy Jones galvanised the community into action to get the sculpture to Newtown, getting on board businesses, schools, Dyfed Powys Police and Powys Youth Services.

During its stay in the town, there will be a full programme of educational, anti-violence workshops and initiatives - a stipulation of The British Ironwork Centre, which is behind the knife angel tour of Britain as part of its Save a Life, Surrender your Knife campaign.

Councillor Jones said: "I see this as a stand not just against knife crime but against violence in all its forms, including bullying."

"The police commissioner, Dafydd Llywelyn, has come on board to help deliver the message and Powys Youth Services are also helping to pull a programme together."

She said it was important that the work done to get across the sculpture's message was tailored to the audience it was aimed at, including the ages of those in schools and colleges.

"We want to stand up against violence of all kinds and if it stops one person from committing a violent act then it will have been worth it," she said.

"We are fortunate here not to have a big knife crime problem. But it only takes one person to be carrying a knife or a weapon and one moment of madness to cause a death.

"That moment will destroy the lives not only of the victim and his or her family, but also of the perpetrator and their family. I hope that the knife angel will make people stop and think.

"It they can step back for just a couple of seconds and think before they act, they will avoid ruining their life and the lives of those around them."

The councillor is also hoping that the arrival of the knife angel in Newtown will attract people into the town.

"We decided to put it by the gallery so that we can get electricity to the sculpture and illuminate it at night. It is going to be pretty spectacular," she added.

The sculpture was created by artist, Alfie Bradley, from hundreds of thousands of knifes, handed into or confiscated by police forces across the UK.

Weighing 3.5 tonnes and standing 27ft high, the Knife Angel is a “national monument against violence and aggression” and was made from 100,000 knives collected from 43 police forces all around the country including Dyfed-Powys.