Parents of murdered teenager unveil knife bank

The parents of a murdered teenager have opened Norfolk's first knife-surrender bin on the fourth anniversary of his death.

Joe Dix, 18, was stabbed seven times during the aftermath of a drugs and cash burglary on the Mile Cross estate in Norwich on 28 January 2022.

Phil and Emma Dix now run an anti-knife crime charity in his name, which funded the bin in the grounds of a church less than a mile from where their son lost his life.

"For us, it's really important this is not far from where Joe was murdered with knives... it's an area of Norwich that's changed our life," said Emma.

She added: "It's a really sad day, but we try to be positive and are trying to help other people.

"Having the bin opened today means that there's another piece of Joe here that we can remember."

Speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk's Nanette Aldous, Phil said the unveiling at St Catherine's Church on Aylsham Road was about giving back to the community and doing something positive as a family.

"Hopefully people will look at the knife bin, see there's a charity that's been formed, and they can then see what we do - and we'll talk to anyone," he added.

The couple have travelled around the county to talk with students and community groups, sharing their story to help raise awareness about knife crime and gang culture.

As part of this work, they show knives seized by Norfolk Police to highlight the nature of the threat on the streets.

They have also been busy distributing bleed kits to local businesses in case someone is attacked or injured.

Last year, the foundation became part of the government's taskforce against knife crime, with Phil and Emma joining actor and campaigner Idris Elba at a Downing Street summit.

Their son's story of being groomed by county lines drug dealers and how the couple tried to cope with his ordeal and murder, was also told last year in a Channel 4 documentary, Social Media Monsters.

Emma said all parents needed to be aware that Joe's exploitation as a young teenager by a criminal gang "could happen to absolutely any child".

"It doesn't matter the background, where you come from, where you live, what your jobs are, anything like that - boy, girl, whatever - exploitation is happening everywhere and it can happen to anybody's child," she said.

"Please don't ever be blinkered that it wouldn't happen to your child, because myself and Phil have found ourselves in that situation."

The bin was designed to be as safe, easy and accessible as possible, with donors advised to safely wrap knives before transporting them to the bin.

"This is for anyone to use, it might be a kitchen knife you have at home that you've had that you don't use, you're better off getting rid of it," added Emma.

"It's about making this a regular thing that people are familiar with; it doesn't mean there's knife crime in an area just because there's a knife bin."

The knives will be recycled, with a possible plan to reuse the metal to create a sculpture.

Annual figures published on Thursday showed Norfolk was among a minority of police forces to see an increase in knife crime.

The number of recorded incidents of knife crime in the county, in the year to September 2025, rose 5.7% year-on-year to 477 - up by 26.

However, the Office for National Statistics data showed knife crime fell for 33 of 44 forces nationally, including the Metropolitan Police, Greater Manchester and West Midlands.

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