Churches in Leeds launch fundraising drive to try to tackle the menace of knife crime

Churches in the Chapeltown and Harehills areas of the city have launched a drive to raise funds for two specialist weapon disposal bins.

They need to raise a total of £8,000 to pay for the initial construction, installation and maintenance of the bins, which would let people get rid of knives safely, securely and anonymously.

The Chapeltown and Harehills Churches Together (CHCT) group says it is pressing forward with the plan following discussions with West Yorkshire Police and local youth workers.

One of the bins would be in Chapeltown while the other would be in Harehills, a community that knows all too well the terrible toll that knife crime can take on victims and families.

Irfan Wahid, 16, died when he was stabbed during a fight at a bus stop on Harehills Lane in February 2017.

The Rev Nicholas lo Polito, vicar of St Martin's Church, said: "Like everyone else in the country, the members of Christian churches in Chapeltown and Harehills have been deeply saddened and worried at the tragic loss of young lives to violent crime in the streets of Leeds.

“Our congregations are often directly affected by such violence and we feel it is time to go beyond the daily pastoral care of victims and their families. These bins are a vital step forward.”

Alison Phelps, from Harehills Lane Baptist Church, added: "My kids grew up in Chapeltown, and now I want to do our little bit to support all the youth workers, parents and grandparents to give all the young people a safe future without fear and full of hope."

Should its fundraising efforts prove successful, then CHCT would put the disposal bins in as-yet-undecided locations in Chapeltown and Harehills in partnership with a charity called Word 4 Weapons.

The charity has already installed bins in many parts of London and the rest of the country, including Burngreave in Sheffield last year.

Dozens of knives have since been recovered from the Sheffield bin along with a sword, two air guns and a police-style baton.

According to recent research, knife crime across Yorkshire and the Humber rose by 45 per cent between 2008 and 2018.

In Leeds, the number of people admitted to hospital with stabbing-related injuries went up from 75 in 2016/17 to 105 the following year, an increase of 40 per cent.

Nationwide, there were 285 homicides where the method of killing was by a knife or sharp instrument in the year to March 2018 – the highest number since records started in 1946.

West Yorkshire is one of seven police force areas where officers have been granted new powers to step up stop-and-search activity as part of the fight against knife crime.

The death of Irfan Wahid prompted an enormous outpouring of grief in Harehills, with thousands of people attending funeral prayers and a day of vigils.

His uncle, Shazad Hussain, said at the time: "All we can all do is have our thoughts with Irfan today, and in the days, weeks and years to come.

“Whether you are a Muslim, Jewish, Christian, or non-believer, I just want you to say your final prayers and final thoughts for Irfan."

To contribute to the weapon bin fundraising, visit the www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/chapeltownharehills-churchestogether web page.

Churches involved with the CHCT group include St Aidan's, St. Augustine's, Trinity United Church, Roscoe Methodist Church and Wesleyan Holiness Church, as well as St Martin's and Harehills Lane Baptist.