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Luton Town players back police anti-knife campaign

BBC/Nicola Haseler Jacob Murphy, Andros Townsend and Alfie Doughty with Roseann TaylorBBC/Nicola Haseler
Roseann Taylor, whose son was killed in a stabbing, said support from Luton Town FC players had been "fantastic"

Luton Town FC has pledged its support to an anti-knife crime campaign launched by police.

Bedfordshire Police launched the Just Drop It campaign to show young people in the county the ripple effects of knife crime.

The campaign includes a film about Azaan Kaleem, a teenager killed by strangers in a Luton stabbing in 2018.

Luton midfielder Alfie Doughty said, as role models, footballers had a part to play.

He said frequent reports of teenagers involved in stabbings in the town had been "hard to read".

BBC/Nicola Haseler Alfie DoughtyBBC/Nicola Haseler
Alfie Doughty said the stabbings in Luton had been "difficult to ignore"

"I think footballers have got a massive position being role models to these sort of people... so with us, they might find another passion in football and that could change a lot," he said.

"There is no need [to carry a knife]. Everybody has a choice - just take a step back and think of the repercussions of it. No matter how old you are, there is time to change."

Mr Kaleem, 18, died in hospital, two days after being stabbed in Hartsfield Road, Luton, on 22 March 2018.

The film about his death is to be shown to school pupils and college students and at other locations across Bedfordshire.

His mother, Roseann Taylor, has campaigned to alert young people to the dangers of carrying a knife.

BBC/Nicola Haseler The Just Drop It logoBBC/Nicola Haseler
The Just Drop It campaign aims to stop children and young people carrying knives

She said not all those who carried a knife were planning violence and some did it "purely because they want to protect themselves."

"The key message for me is carrying a weapon won't keep you safe," she said.

"It will end in a really bad way. There are no winners, it just ruins lives."

She praised the Premier League club for supporting the campaign, she said its involvement was "huge."

"Young people will listen to footballers who they aspire to be - it's fantastic," she said.

BBC/Nicola Haseler Roseann TaylorBBC/Nicola Haseler
Roseann Taylor said the ripple effects of knife crime meant the families of her son's attackers suffered as well as her own

The Just Drop It campaign will also be visible on busses, billboards and social media platforms.

Ms Taylor said: "We are hitting every possible avenue where we can reach young people."

Det Ch Insp Tom Stean said support from Luton Town would make a "massive difference."

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