Teens 'buying stab vests online to wear at school'

Wes Cunliffe from Newport says young people are carrying weapons and wearing stab vests to school out of fear

Teenagers are buying stab vests online and wearing them to school, an anti-knife campaigner has said.

Wes Cunliffe, from Newport, turned his life around after being attacked while involved in drug dealing.

He believes the fear of knife crime in Wales has reached a point where young people in his area were purchasing items to protect themselves and it comes after the UK government announced new measures to make buying weapons online more difficult.

Gwent Police said it was not aware of stab vests being worn or stashed but would welcome hearing more about young people's experiences, while the Welsh government said it took school safety "extremely seriously".

Mr Cunliffe, 34, referred to the many high-profile knife crime cases in Wales, including the murder of 17-year-old Harry Baker as well as the attempted murder of two teachers and a pupil by a 14-year-old girl.

"A lot of young people I know are wearing stab vests because they're thinking someone could attack at any given time," Mr Cunliffe told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"When you see things like Temu come up on your apps, it actually comes up with stab vests. And then they stash them locally around the communities and estates in Newport."

In the UK, there are currently no legal restrictions on the purchase and ownership of stab protection products.

Mr Cunliffe has been an anti-knife campaigner and youth mentor for about eight years and said he had spoken to more than 300 young people about knife crime.

"Young people are telling me they're carrying knives through fear. If there's a bit of conflict between two teenage individuals, for example, then both teenagers will end up picking up a weapon just as protection.

"Everywhere you look on social media, you see young people, balaclavas on, attacking each other with machetes, knives, hammers, screwdrivers. The violence is absolutely unreal."

He said he went into schools and colleges in Newport, Cardiff, Swansea and across the UK, as well as working with South Wales Police on its Not The One knife campaign.

Mr Cunliffe was attacked while involved in drug dealing when he was 16.

"Fortunately, I lived, however there are a lot of young people who unfortunately haven't," he said.

He added he does not tell young people what to do but showed them his scars and felt he could "understand how they view the world".

The number of serious offences involving a knife or sharp object recorded in the year ending March 2024 in Wales and England was 54% higher than in 2016, according to ONS figures and knife crime reached an all-time high in 2020.

The new measures announced by the UK government - known as Ronan's Law, after 16-year-old Ronan Kanda who was murdered three years ago - involve rules for selling knives online and tougher penalties for those who break them.

Mr Cunliffe said it was a start but not "the full solution", with "a whole community approach" needed.

A search online brings up a variety of stab vests such as these for sale, starting at about £15

Self-defence instructor James Bourne runs a nightclub security firm in Cardiff and said he had worked with many young people who feared being attacked.

He often wears stab protection clothing and said he knew of young people buying it online, including "slash-proof hoodies" but warned there was no guarantee it would protect them, and wearing these items did not justify carrying a knife.

Mr Bourne, 51, spent five years offering self-defence classes to children and young people for free, and continued to coach some clients on a private basis.

Wes Cunliffe goes into schools to share his experiences and the "risks and consequences" of knife crime

He has been the victim of knife attacks, "because of repercussions of my job", including being stabbed five times while working in Cardiff.

He also said one of his staff had to deal with the aftermath of a stabbing while on their way to work recently when "two young boys" had been stabbed in the head and neck.

The father-of-five added knife crime would not be eradicated "as long as humans walk this planet", but he hoped to "inspire self-confidence" through self-defence.

Earlier this year, actor and anti-knife campaigner Idris Elba spoke to young people as part of the Premier League Kicks programme, which works with 90 football clubs including in Swansea and Cardiff, and offers free football and workshop sessions where participants "can discuss issues that are impacting their everyday lives, such as knife crime".

Some of the teenagers at a session in east London said they tried to keep themselves safe by wearing stab vests or multiple layers of clothing, the Mirror newspaper reported.

Elba released a BBC documentary in January, which followed him as he mounted a campaign to try to stop knife crime in the UK.

Swansea City AFC Foundation, which runs sessions with young people in Wales under the scheme, said it had "noticed that some young people express concerns about safety and have mentioned initiatives like purchasing stab vests".

"It reflects a troubling reality that many young individuals feel increasingly vulnerable. To address this fear, we believe it's crucial to focus on community engagement, education, and positive activities that promote conflict resolution and self-worth, rather than self-defence equipment," it said.

James Bourne says he has been stabbed at work multiple times and thinks young people should be equipped with the skills to defend themselves without weapons

Gwent Police's Ch Supt Jason White said officers regularly visited schools "to educate and speak to children directly to highlight the potential risks of carrying a knife".

Ch Supt Esyr Jones of South Wales Police said the area was "no different to anywhere else" in seeing rising knife crime.

He added: "Please think about how your future could be ruined if you are caught carrying or using a knife.

"Please also speak to us if you think someone is carrying a knife - it can be difficult, but it will help ensure that that weapon can't be used to cause serious injury, or worse."

The Welsh government said it supported the new UK government proposals to tackle knife crime.