Britain's DEADLY STREETS

With the UK’s worst-hit areas facing 30 knife crime incidents a day, Woman investigates

- CANDICE FERNANDEZ

It’s surely every parent’s worst nightmare – to hear that your child has been caught up in a violent incident involving a knife. In recent years, Britain’s knife-crime epidemic has reached crisis point, with thousands of cases being reported every year. London – the knife crime capital of Britain – recorded a huge 10,130 incidents in 2020. In Greater Manchester, there were 3,073 flashpoints, while West Yorkshire officers recorded 2,200 cases and Essex dealt with 1,589 incidents. And the most shocking part is that most incidents involve children. Some 23 children aged just 17 or younger were murdered with a knife or sharp object in the 12 months to March 2020.* Woman delves deeper and investigates the devastating effects knife crime has on families.

‘MY GRANDSON WAS SAVAGELY BEATEN AND STABBED IN THE CHEST’

Julie Taylor, 56, lives in Chelmsford. Babbling away on the living-room floor, my son James, then 15 months, and grandson Liam, then 11 months, made the cutest pair.

‘Fish, Fish,’ James garbled, trying to say Liam’s name.

Me and my daughter Michelle fell about laughing. It’d been a shock when Michelle had fallen pregnant at 18 in 1999, especially because, at only 35, I was already four months pregnant with my fifth child.

But bringing up our boys together was special as they were more like twins. And James’ cute nickname for Liam stuck – even his teachers called him Fish.