Mum honoured for her campaign against knife crime

Roseann Taylor his been campaigning against knife crime since her teenage son was stabbed in 2018

A mum whose teenage son was fatally stabbed has been honoured for her campaign against knife crime.

Roseann Taylor's son, Azaan Kaleem, was just 18 when he was stabbed as he walked down a Luton street with his girlfriend.

Ever since, Ms Taylor has been raising awareness of the dangers of carrying a bladed weapon, and the impact knife crime has on victims' families.

She was congratulated in St George's Square, Luton, on Saturday - after the Knife Angel, a sculpture made from surrendered blades, arrived in the town.

The Knife Angel is made from100,000 blades surrendered during knife amnesties

The 27 ft (8m) Knife Angel was designed to be a stark reminder of the scale of knife crime, and the lives that have been lost.

Ms Taylor said the sculpture "invokes quite a lot of emotions".

She added: "There are pluses and negatives in my perspective, as a parent who has lost a child through knife crime.

"I think the negatives are that it is quite scary to look at," she said.

"It is sad to know many blades are actually out there in the country because there are so many more."

"It's a presence in itself and just the fact that it is called an 'angel' - because those who are killed by knives are angels.

"I was that parent who never thought about knife crime, and that is purely because I never thought it would affect me."

After being honoured, she told the BBC: "For me, the work that I do doesn't really feel like work.

"It is my passion, it's my drive. Everything that I do keeps Azaan's memory alive and prevalent."

Insp Liz Spurling, of Bedfordshire Police, says Luton is privileged to have the Knife Angel in the city

Insp Liz Spurling, of Bedfordshire Police, said: "We are really privileged to have the Knife Angel with us.

"It's representative of the knives taken off the street and created into a positive sculpture, to give hope and inspiration to communities affected and blighted by knife crime."

Insp Spurling said 2,000 knives had been seized from the streets of Bedfordshire this year.