Famous Knife Angel sculpture to be displayed in Wrexham town centre in July

News that the famous Knife Angel will be on display in Wrexham town centre later this summer has been welcomed.

Last week it was announced that the sculpture will be coming to Queens Square in July thanks to a partnership between North Wales Police, Coleg Cambria and the British Ironworks.

The Angel, which is made up of more than 100,000 seized knives, aims to raise awareness of the negative effects and impacts on people’s lives that violent behaviour and knife crime can have.

Leader of Wrexham Council, councillor Mark Pritchard, said he was “delighted that a nationally significant piece of art with a very serious message” would be in display within the town.

“We have been working with the British Ironworks over the last few months,” explained Cllr Pritchard.

“The hosting of such a high profile event by Wrexham shows the significance and the key role that Wrexham plays in Wales and the North Wales Region. I would like to thank everyone involved in bringing this important piece of art to Wrexham.”

Councillor Terry Evans, lead member for economy and regeneration, said: “This is great news for the town centre both in terms of having another high profile event to support our regeneration programme for the town but also supports the message we want to encourage people to heed in terms of the danger of carrying a knife and the potential consequences.”

The angel’s time in Wrexham will also include a 28-days of intensive educational programmes and workshops for young people.

Host locations are asked to utilise the angel as a point of tuition in order to ignite conversation over difficult subjects surrounding aggressive behaviour, carrying weaponry, and using violence as a resource for addressing problems.

Following Newtown’s success with their campaign, Wrexham will also be committed to hopefully deputising a minimum of 10,000 children and young people into becoming ‘Anti-Violence Champions’.

Additionally, Wrexham will be provided with a knife bank during the angel’s stay. Following their hosting period, all blades collected through this amnesty will be handed back to ourselves by the North Wales Police and will be used to create and continue the Angel’s legacy within Wales.

Councillor Hugh Jones Lead Member for Community Safety stated “The Knife Angel will enable us to get our the community safety message about the potential consequences of knife carrying not just in terms of a one off event, but in terms of a full educational programme for our local communities.”

Inspector Vic Powell of North Wales Police added: “ The Knife Angel is a crucially important concept and seeks to remind all of us of the potential tragedy associated with knife crime.

“It is incumbent on the community to come together to understand the significance of this event and use the Angel as a starting point in making North Wales an even safer place in which to live, work and visit.”