Parents of knife crime victims hail blade surrender breakthrough as 15,000 weapons taken off streets

Parents of knife crime victims hail blade surrender breakthrough as 15,000 weapons taken off streets Pooja Kanda, Caroline Willgoose and Martin Cosser have welcomed latest figures showing more than 15,000 blades - including ninja swords and machetes - have been surrendered since last summer Parents of teens who lost their lives to knife crime have welcomed thousands of blades being taken off the street. Pooja Kanda, Caroline Willgoose and Martin Cosser, whose sons Ronan, Harvey and Charlie were murdered by fellow teenagers, voiced their relief that 14,500 weapons have been dropped in Home Office surrender bins since July 2025. These include ninja swords, zombie-style knives and machetes. And a further 783 knives were handed in to a mobile surrender van. It comes as the knife homicide rate dropped to its lowest level in 35 years. Pooja, whose son Ronan was murdered with a ninja sword in Wolverhampton, West Midlands in 2022, said: "Every knife handed into a surrender bin is one less weapon that could end a life or devastate a family like mine. I lost my 16-year-old son, Ronan, in a mistaken identity knife attack. He paid the ultimate price because someone else chose to carry a knife. "There are no winners in knife crime. The removal of more than 15,000 knives from our communities is a significant achievement and demonstrates what can be accomplished when government, charities, police and communities work together." Caroline, whose 15-year-old son Harvey was fatally stabbed with a hunting knife at his Sheffield school by a former friend last year, said: "We as a family are really pleased with the direction this government is taking. "With the new surrender bins being installed in Yorkshire, this is just a further step on the road to a positive future. We know we are being listened to now, and that in the tragic loss of Harvey, we, together with government, are making a change for the better for kids not just in Yorkshire, but across the UK, for the present and for the future." Martin, dad of Charlie Cosser - who was stabbed to death at a party in Warnham, West Sussex, aged just 17 - said: "We welcome any government initiative that results in knives being taken off our streets. Every knife removed is potentially a life saved and any measure that reduces the number of weapons in circulation should be recognised as a positive step." Bins managed by charity Word 4 Weapons are located in London, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. And a mobile surrender van operated by FazAmnesty has collected blades elsewhere in the country. There are currently 37 Home Office-funded surrender bins across England. Leanne Lucas, who was stabbed during the horrific Southport attack in July 2024, also voiced her support. Leanne, who founded campaign group Let’s Be Blunt, said: “Making it easier for people to safely and anonymously dispose of unwanted knives is an important part of preventing knife-related harm. It gives people the opportunity to make safer choices for their homes and communities." She called for people to consider replacing kitchen knives with rounded-tipped blades - an idea advocated by actor and anti-knife crime campaigner Sir Idris Elba. Leanne said: "Alongside safe disposal, we encourage people surrendering pointed-tip kitchen knives to consider replacing them with safer rounded-tip alternatives where appropriate. By reducing unnecessary access to pointed-tip kitchen knives whilst maintaining their everyday function, we can help reduce the risk of life-changing injuries without compromising how people cook." Labour came to power promising to halve knife crime within a decade. Since the general election in July 2024, figures show there has been an 11% fall. In the year to March 2026 there were 176 knife killings, the lowest level since 1991. Policing and Crime Minister Sarah Jones said: "Every dangerous weapon that has been surrendered so far is a weapon off our streets and a community made that little bit safer. That’s why we're going further and making it easier for more people in more places to do the right thing and hand over their knives."