Bleed control packs have been donated to Uttlesford secondary schools as part of a campaign to educate young people about the dangers of knife crime.

The Knife Harm campaign, backed by Uttlesford District Council, was launched by the Essex Violence and Vulnerability Unit (VVU) on Monday, February 27.

Bringing together partners from across the county, the campaign supports parents in having difficult conversations with their children. 

Members of the Uttlesford Community Safety Partnership, including Essex Police and Uttlesford District Council, visited Forest Hall School in Stansted to launch the campaign.

They were accompanied by Julie Taylor, who established the Liam Taylor Legacy in memory of her grandson Liam, who was fatally stabbed in Writtle in January 2020.

Julie - who will visit every school in the district - gave a presentation to the school where she told her family's devastating story.

Students were also shown the knife arch - a walk-through metal detector which shows if someone is carrying a weapon.

In addition, the community safety partnership has funded six new bleed control packs for the district, which can be used to treat any kind of injury where the victim is bleeding heavily.

Each of the packs contains gloves, scissors, a foil blanket, a mouthguard for giving CPR, a trauma dressing, a chest seal, a pack bandage and an tourniquet.

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One pack has been provided for each secondary school in the district, and two for the police stations in Great Dunmow and Saffron Walden.

Each pack will be registered with the East of England Ambulance Service, which can direct a caller to nearest kit in an emergency.

Cllr Maggie Sutton, portfolio holder for communities, health, youth, public safety, emergency planning and liaison with the police and fire and rescue service at Uttlesford District Council, said: "Essex is a safe county and Uttlesford is a safe district, but one knife crime is one too many, and we want to support parents to feel informed when having difficult conversations with their children.

"There are some great resources available to help you open dialogue with young people, please talk to your children about the devastating consequences of carrying a knife."