Stab victim's mother backs shop knife display campaign

The mother of a man who was stabbed to death in a city centre is backing a campaign to stop knives being openly displayed in shop windows.

Marlon Small, 31, died after suffering a single stab wound in Leeds in November 2014.

His mother Carole said she was horrified large hunting knifes are still promoted in city centre shops.

Local knife retailers said the main issue was with "irresponsible online traders".

Campaigner James Swallow-Gaunt, from Sheffield, said he wants knives to be treated in the same way as cigarettes.

Mrs Small said advertising knives in shop windows sends out the wrong message.

"To me, it is enticing," she said, adding that "I can't believe it is allowed."

Mr Swallow-Gaunt, who teaches self-defence, is launching a knife awareness campaign in schools across South Yorkshire after a recent spate of stabbings in Sheffield.

He is calling for knives to be treated in the same way as cigarettes and hidden behind screens.

"The whole idea of advertising knives knocks me back," he said.

But Sheffield knife retailer Paul Iseard said: "I don't think retailers need tighter regulation in terms of how we present our goods."

He said in his view the main issue was with "irresponsible online traders".

South Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings said he would also support any initiative that stops the glamorisation of knives.

"There has been a spate of knife incidents across the country and we have had stabbings in South Yorkshire," he said.

"We need to get across the message that carrying a knife gives no protection: you are more likely to become victim yourself."

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), knife crime rose by 22% in England and Wales in 2017.