Parents urged to report children over knife fears

A police boss has urged parents to report children if they suspect them of carrying a knife, in the wake of the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old.

Baye Bireme Fall died after the incident near Ortongate Shopping Centre in Peterborough on Sunday evening.

His family called him an "amazing boy and son whose heart is pure and kind towards other people".

The Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Darryl Preston, asked parents "to be vigilant". He added: "If they notice unusual behaviour or they suspect knife crime there are a number of avenues."

He continued: "I would strongly urge them to speak to a professional, whether that's the police, they could go through Crimestoppers, but of course if it's one of your children, even school, social care.

"But get some help because the worst scenario [is] that the child going out is caught with a knife or worse still uses a knife; that's a life ruined."

A 15-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man have been charged on suspicion of murder in relation to the incident in Peterborough.

In Cambridgeshire, the Knife Angel sculpture, made from 100,000 knives that were confiscated by police, will be installed in Ely next month as it continues its tour of Britain.

Cambridgeshire Police said a knife amnesty would be taking place at the same time in a bid to remove knives from the streets and to highlight the impact of knife crime on people's lives.

Preston, who was a police officer for 30 years, said knife crime had "always been an issue".

"It just seems that more young people in particular are carrying knives and, worse than that, they're actually being used."

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