Op Sceptre- mum's plea after son's stabbing

The mum of a young man who was stabbed is backing our latest knife crime awareness campaign and amnesty - Op Sceptre.

Carol Tait's son Cameron was stabbed in the stomach in a Calne car park three years ago during a night out.

Cameron, who was 21 at the time, was put into an induced coma for two weeks and then spent almost six months in hospital. Although now recovered, he is still dealing with life changing injuries.

Carol wants every young person to be educated about the dangers of knife crime so no-one makes the same mistake as the person who stabbed her son did on that night in 2018.

She said: "What happened to Cameron is with me every day and I wouldn't want anyone else, any other family to go through what we went through.

“Whenever I hear about a stabbing on the news, I immediately go back to that time Cameron was seriously injured.

"People, and young people in particular, need to know the huge damage a knife attack can cause. Cameron received a relatively small puncture wound, around an inch long, but this caused so much damage to his body. The pain he went through must have been awful.

“We need to teach our children from an early age about the dangers of knives. To press home the message that carrying a knife and using a knife can have massive repercussions; and, the effects ripple out to their family and friends and the family and friends of the offender. No-one escapes.

“I would like to see schools and colleges introduce something similar to the driving campaign that is run – where knife crime and the dangers of knives are talked about; perhaps hearing from a victim, a victim’s mum – like me – and even a reformed offender.”

The Op Sceptre knife crime awareness campaign and amnesty is running until 26 November with amnesty bins at 13 locations across the county.

Carol said: “I am supporting this campaign because if one more knife is taken off the streets and put in an amnesty bin then it has done its job.

“My message is simple – don’t carry a knife. If you don’t have one then you won’t use it. If you do have one, put it in the (amnesty) bin.”