'Knife crime isn't just a big city problem'

Tim Taylor with one of the bleed kits he has donated

A first aid trainer has begun donating specialist bleed kits to communities across North Yorkshire after more than 1,700 blades were surrendered in a recent county knife amnesty.

Tim Taylor said he was motivated after discovering there were only four publicly accessible kits in North Yorkshire - with three being in York and one outside Selby - out of more than 3,500 across the UK.

"There is a massive gap to deal with immediate care of either knife crime, acts of aggression or even just accidents in general in our region," he explained.

The amnesty, which ran between March and May this year, recorded 441 blades handed over in Harrogate, with 212 in Tadcaster, 128 in Skipton and 109 in Stokesley.

The secure bins for the knives were organised by the county's councils and police force with funding by the regional combined authority.

Mr Taylor said people from rural areas did not always consider knife crime a threat, because such offences could be seen as a "big city problem".

But if businesses and organisations were more aware of the issue and the life-saving equipment inside the kits, they would be more inclined to sponsor a kit to be installed in their nearest defibrillator box, he argued.

He added: "It does need a bit of a community effort to get this countywide so hopefully I can be a catalyst to get things going."

Bleed kits can be registered with authorities for use during emergency incidents

The bleed kits, which have been financed by Mr Taylor himself, are designed to control catastrophic bleeding and contain tourniquets and dressings as well as guides with images.

So far, Mr Taylor, who founded Hands on Heart Training, has donated kits to Stokesley and Northallerton, but it has not yet been confirmed where they will be placed.

He is hoping that future kits will be installed in places like supermarkets, gyms and on public transport.

Some of the knives deposited in the knife bins during the scheme

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