Vigil held to mark arrival of Knife Angel in Blackburn

Last night (November 4), the 27ft Knife Angel statue was officially welcomed to the county in a ceremony led by the Revd Canon Dr Rowena Pailing.

Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Cllr Derek Hardman attended the service with Mayoress Colette Hardman.

He said: “It’s amazing. It’s a real honour as a town, as a borough to host this – it’s incredible.”

To mark its arrival in the county, a service was held in the Cathedral led by groups who were involved in bringing the statue to Blackburn.

(L-R) Chief Executive Denise Park, Mayor Derek Hardman, Mayoress Colette Hardman, Cllr Mohammed Khan and chief officer and director Sayyed Osman

Following this, a candle lit vigil was headed up by faith leaders to commemorate all of those who have been affected by knife crime.

Describing the statue in just one word, police and crime commissioner Andrew Snowden said: “Striking – and that’s the whole point of it.

“If you watch people, they are drawn to it, they want to know what it is and that was the whole point of this – you can’t miss it.

“I have had groups of kids coming to talk to me and it gives you an in – you can strike up that conversation and start talking about the dangers of knife crime.”

Chief Constable of Lancashire Police Chris Rowley

Chief Constable Chris Rowley said: “As a police chief, me and my teams, we see the impact that every knife has on an individual.

“Sadly, young people take these knives, believing that they need to protect themselves, and they end up being taken off them and used on them.

“My officers then have to sadly go and tell their families.

“The more we can do to educate young people and tell them they don’t need a knife the better.

A candle-lit vigil was held to remember all of those who have been affected by knife crime

Sculptor Alfie Bradley spent about four years making the statue along with the British Ironwork Centre and said he was inspired by a similar project he was working on.

Alfie said: “I built a giant gorilla made out of spoons which was 13ft. While I was building that, in the news all I kept hearing about was knife crime.

“I thought, hang on, that’s a massive issue – what can I do?

“We received the weapons and I bleached them one by one – blunted them one by one.

“We created this massive angel looking down at its hands asking why – why are you doing this?”

Alfie and British Ironworks contacted the Home Office to ask whether they could have the knives given in through amnesty bins from the constabularies across the country – to which they got approval.

MPs Sara Davies and Kate Hollern attended the service as well as Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden

MP for Hyndburn and Haslingden, Sara Britcliffe said: “To have this not just here in Blackburn but in East Lancashire is amazing.

“When you see it for the first time it gives you a chilling sensation.

“You can see people walking past and having a look.

“It is a real reminder of the damage that can happen through knife crime.”

The Knife Angel will be on display in Blackburn until the end of November

The sculpture will spend the rest of November outside the cathedral on its 15th stop in the tour before being moved on to Cumbria in December.

It is made up of 100,000 knives surrendered and collected in nationwide amnesties in 2015 and 2016 – with at least 7,000 of those coming from the streets of Lancashire.