Emergency 'bleed kits' in Redcar aim to save lives from knives

Emergency kits designed to stop life-threatening bleeding until paramedics arrive have been agreed for a town in the wake of a schoolboy being stabbed.

Four cabinets containing potentially life-saving products have been placed around Redcar.

Councillor Peter Grogan championed the kits after a 15-year-old was stabbed in broad daylight on Mersey Road in June.

They have been funded by Cleveland's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) as part of a violence reduction programme

Mr Grogan, who previously worked as a club doorman, said: "When somebody has a catastrophic bleed, there are only three to five minutes to save a life.

"There is no doubt that the more cabinets, which are located in this area, the more lives will be saved."

He presented research he had gathered from speaking to Redcar's Chris Cave Foundation and the Sunderland-based Connor Brown Trust to PCC Steve Turner, who backed the idea.

The kits contain dressings, gauzes and a tourniquet to stem blood flow, along with gloves and scissors.

Mr Turner said: "When councillor Grogan presented his proposal to myself and the Cleveland Unit for the Reduction of Violence (CURV) team, it was a no-brainer.

"For a relatively small sum of money and little effort, we could have life-saving equipment positioned around the town centre, reaching into the heart of the night time economy," he added.

Three cabinets, which need a code to be opened, have been placed in Redcar town centre while a fourth is located in Roseberry Square.

Nearby businesses have been advised on how to use them.

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