Mum whose son was stabbed to death is fighting for Knife Angel statue to come to Nottingham

A grieving mum whose son was stabbed to death is calling on the powers that be to bring a 27ft knife angel statue to Nottingham as one of the blades bears her son's name.

Nottingham City Council has refused to support or fund the giant sculpture, made up of 100,000 seized knives, 1,500 of which have been donated by Nottinghamshire Police.

Anti-knife crime campaigners believe the artwork stands as a symbol against youth violence, which is plaguing the country.

Derby is the next East Midlands city to host the sculpture next to the Cathedral in Iron Gate, supported by a number of agencies including its city council.

Leicester is also looking into the possibility of bringing it to the city by the end of the year.

Trish Bergan, 77, of Gedling, knows the true effects of knife crime after her first child, Eugene, was stabbed to death outside his family home, aged 27 .

The mother-of-two said she is living "a life sentence" after her son was killed in an unprovoked attack, four days before Christmas in 2002.

He was stabbed in the neck only metres from her home.

Still to this day she does not have the answers to why her son was killed, as he did not know the offender, Aaron Oliver, who was 21 at the time.

He was jailed for life in December 2006 after pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Mrs Bergan has written her son's name on one of the knife angel blades and has met the artist behind the sculpture.

She said: "I want it in Nottingham because my son was killed in Nottingham. I want people to realise what can happen to your child and loved ones.

"All these blades represent someone who has been killed and they will take it onboard. My son is there on it as living evidence.

"Why are the city council dead against it? We want it in Nottingham and I am fighting for it to come."

"I would like to see it in Old Market Square. It is a prominent place, where they put the Christmas tree."

Director of youth organisation Go Digit All, Natasha Johnson-Richards, based in The Meadows, is trying to bring it to Nottingham.

She has the support of the University of Nottingham and Police and Crime Commissioner, Paddy Tipping, as well as other anti-knife crime campaigners.

The city council said its position had not changed and that money should be spent on catching criminals rather than bringing statues to Nottingham.

The statue is believed to cost around £5,000 and usually spends a month in the city.

Without the city council support, it would not be displayed on council land such as Old Market Square, and funding could be difficult to generate.

Mrs Johnson-Richards is still optimistic.

She added: "Other cities have brought it with the help of the local authority who see it as a positive thing. We have got the biggest (knife crime) issue out of the lot."

She said an action plan has been drawn up and they will continue to look at ways to bring it to the city "with or without the council's support."

Hyacinth Francis, founder of the Chayah Project, which works with young people in gangs, is also in support of bringing it to the city.

She said; "Derby is having it. We have lost young people from this city.  How would Nottingham look when all the other cities are having it? They are in denial."

Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, made up of around 300 churches, were approached to see if they would support the angel in their grounds.

A spokesman said: "Bishop Paul entirely supports the efforts of the Police and Crime Commissioner in seeking to address the issues arising from knife crime, and has offered his full support to developing a co-ordinated cross-agency response to the issue.

"He hopes that the campaign to bring the Knife Angel to Nottingham can be given consideration, but only as part of a far wider, co-ordinated and collaborative approach, involving local community groups, faith leaders, city and county council, as well as the statutory agencies, including Nottinghamshire Police.

Bishop Paul added: "Many of our parishes are already engaged on the frontline in communities especially affected by knife crime. And we are fully committed to harnessing this local knowledge and engagement to contribute positively to finding solutions. We want our city to be a safe place for everyone.

"The consequences of knife crime are utterly devastating for those who are injured and the families of those killed. We want to see fear banished from our city and the full potential of all its young people released for good things."

The monument was commissioned by The British Ironwork Centre, a family run metalwork business based in Oswestry and created by artist Alfie Bradley.