Weapon museum in 'no knives' push

A selection of knives taken from youths in London by the police

A nationwide campaign to educate people about the dangers of carrying knives has been unveiled at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.

The weaponry museum says its NTK - No To Knives campaign aims to cut the number of knives on the streets.

It has set a target of getting one million young people to make a pledge on its website not to carry knives.

Youth Justice Board research shows that one in three young people will carry a knife for protection at some stage.

Records from 37 police forces across the UK for the months of April, May and June this year revealed that a knife crime was committed every 24 minutes.

NTK's website aims to provide a platform for constructive debate on the knife crime issue and to encourage young people and community groups to share their knowledge on the issue.

Sadly a lot of young people don't realise that carrying a knife could be a recipe for disaster Peter Armstrong, Royal Armouries director

Ann Oakes-Odger, from Colchester, whose 27-year-old son Westley was killed with a knife in 2005 by a man who was queuing with him to use a cash machine, is a keen supporter of the campaign.

She said: "Every time someone makes a pledge on this website, it means that they are thinking about this issue.

"We need to get young people to see that carrying a knife is not cool, fashionable or a weapon of defence.

"As far as I'm concerned, a knife in your pocket is as bad as a loaded gun."

Royal Armouries director Peter Armstrong said: "Sadly a lot of young people don't realise that carrying a knife could be a recipe for disaster, so we decided to create an interactive peer-to-peer website to give young people a voice.

"We don't imagine that a website alone is going to solve the knife issue, but we hope that by raising awareness of the campaign, informing young people about the dangers of knives and delivering weapons awareness courses, we can have an impact.

"If NTK can persuade even one person not to carry a knife, it will have been worthwhile."