Swindon taxis' military bandages 'could save lives'

Alex Chivers said the bandages were "for those first vital five minutes before help arrives"

Military-grade bandages are being distributed to taxi drivers in Swindon in a bid to curb the harm caused by rising knife crime.

Charity Rapaid gives out packs of the dressings for free and cabs are given a green sticker to show they have a kit.

The aim of the initiative is to allow passers-by to flag down a taxi and grab a bandage in the event of an emergency.

Founder Alex Chivers said: "This could be the difference between life or death."

Six people have been stabbed in Swindon over the past month - one of them fatally.

Owen Dunn, 18, was killed in Haydon End on 4 December.

Mr Chivers, an Afghan veteran and former Wiltshire Police officer, explained the bandages can apply 30lbs (13.6kg) of pressure to a wound.

The Rapaid packs contain military-grade dressings

He said: "No training is needed. It's just for those first vital five minutes before help arrives.

"No one is expecting the taxi drivers to become pseudo paramedics, they are carrying these for us and for the emergency services as well."

Mr Chivers continued: "The police officers know they on board, they know if they see one of those "Rapaid" stickers they can flag one of those taxis down and say 'we need your bandages, something terrible has happened' and they are there."

The packs contain four bandages and four pairs of surgical gloves.

They have previously been distributed to pubs, community centres and shops.

Taxis carrying the bandages are given a Rapaid sticker

He said: "Unfortunately it only takes five minutes to bleed to death if you've got a serious bleeding injury - this could be the difference between life or death.

"There is a knife crime problem and it's rising. There's no getting away from that."

He added: "Unfortunately there was tragic evidence of that a couple of weeks ago, it just reminds everyone that knives are being carried."

Mustafa Yilmas, of the Swindon Taxi Association, said the rise in knife crime was "worrying"

Mustafa Yilmas, of the Swindon Taxi Association, said: "What Swindon was like 10, 15, or maybe 20 years and today, there is a very big difference - that's why these stabbings, these recent incidents, are a bit worrying.

"That is why we have to take action - so (the packs) are one of the actions we have taken with Alex and our driver colleagues."