Footballers to wear anti-knife bands
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Young people in Surrey have persuaded professional footballers to wear green wristbands to unite against knife crime.
Members of Spelthorne Youth Council and Woking Youth Council used Youth Opportunity Fund cash to buy 40,000 of the wristbands.
Now footballers from Portsmouth, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Millwall, Brentford, Wycombe Wanderers, Woking FC and Luton Town have agreed to wear the anti-knife crime bands.
The young people decided to act after 16-year-old Londoner Ben Kinsella died from stab wounds in June. Andy Holdaway, youth and arts officer at Spelthorne Borough Council, said: "Although knife crime is not a big issue in Surrey, young people here are still concerned about it. They wanted to raise awareness that knives wreck lives."
Youth liaison officers for Surrey Police are also distributing the wristbands, and police officers have agreed to take assemblies in schools to highlight the dangers of carrying knives.
