A powerful sculpture carrying a chilling message about the danger of carrying a knife is returning to the North East.

The Knife Angel, which is made up of 100,000 surrendered blades, will be in Sunderland next June.

Standing at 27ft tall, it’s set to be installed at Keel Square where it will bring people together and encourage open conversations around the dangers of carrying bladed weapons, and the potential consequences.

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It follows tireless campaigning by Tanya Brown, whose 18-year-old son Connor died from stab wounds after he was attacked on a night out in 2019.

The Northern Echo: Connor Brown Connor Brown (Image: Contributor)

Tanya said: “It is an amazing piece of art in itself and the facts around the structure is something that resonates with us as a family.”

Tanya and her husband Simon formed The Connor Brown Trust in memory of their son and spent their time educating young people of the dangers of knife crime.

In February 2020, the Knife Angel stood tall on Gateshead’s quayside next The Sage after another North East anti-knife crime charity, Samantha’s Legacy, campaigned to bring it to the region, and in August last year it was at Kirkleatham Museum in Redcar.

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Thousands of young people visited the statue and many received a hard-hitting knife crime workshop to highlight the devastating impact of carrying a knife on individuals, families, and entire communities.

The Connor Brown Trust will be running various workshops, taking their important story of how Connor was tragically killed to classrooms and youth groups throughout the region.

These sessions will centre on warning young people of the dangers as well as crucially making sure they know what to do and where to go if they need help or advice if they or someone they know is carrying a knife.

The Northern Echo: Tanya Brown, right, with her husband SimonTanya Brown, right, with her husband Simon (Image: Contributor)Tanya, from Sunderland, said: “We know how much of an impact it had when it was in our region and so many visited the angel and had the opportunity to be part of the educational workshops.

“I am positive the Knife Angel will have just as much of an impact on many more young people and attract many visitors.

“We have plans to run an extensive educational programme with other events and activities for the month the Angel is here in our city.”

The Connor Brown Trust and Samantha’s Legacy are both part of the North East Knife Crime Taskforce, which was set up by The Northern Echo as part of an ongoing campaign to tackle knife crime following the deaths of several teenagers across the region in recent years.

Read more: The Northern Echo calls on the Prime Minister for urgent action on knife crime

They are also supported by Northumbrian Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness who launched her own campaign, Knives Impact Everyone, in summer.

She said: “Anyone who has already seen the knife angel knows how powerful it is, so poignant and hard-hitting.

“It sends shivers, it really makes you think, and that’s the idea.

“For me it perfectly symbolises the social change that we’re trying to push for across the region.

“Too many lives have been lost due to the needless carrying of blades and so we are determined with this, we have to be.”

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Artist Alfie Bradley completed the knife angel in 2018 using blades handed in during amnesties held by police forces across the country.

Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “No mother should ever have to go through what Tanya went through when she lost Connor, and my heart goes out to her and to every other parent who has lost a child to knife crime. 

 “If the Knife Angel coming to Sunderland makes even one young person think twice about carrying a knife or sparks a conversation among a group of young people about the devastating consequences of knife crime, then its visit will have been well worthwhile.”