The mother of a High Wycombe stabbing victim has welcomed a Thames Valley-wide knife surrender which was started yesterday as part of a national campaign to create a work-of-art symbolising the country’s stand against knife violence.

Jourdan Griffiths will be one of thousands of people to have their names included on the tribute, with his mother now praising the move to take weapons off the streets.

Moya Griffiths, had been calling for Thames Valley Police to hold a gun and knife amnesty across the town in recent months - six years after her son was killed in a town centre squat.

She said: “I think it’s a real positive thing to do when you see how many knives have already been collected and taken off the streets. It’s incredible.

“It’s good that Thames Valley [Police] has agreed to do it.

“I had the opportunity to have Jourdan’s name added to the memorial and I decided to do it. His name, Jourdan Maxwell Griffiths, will be engraved on one of the knives.”

She added that a gun amnesty should also be considered for the area.

People wishing to give knives to police, will be able to put them in surrender bins which are available across the county, including in High Wycombe and Amersham.

Last year, there were 31 sexual offences or violent crimes involving knives reported in High Wycombe – 25 fewer than in 2013.

Bucks Free Press:

Last year, Moya Griffiths joined East Wycombe Independent councillors calling for a gun and knife amnesty in High Wycombe.

The knives will be used by the British Ironwork Centre in a bid to display the artwork on the fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square in London.

Clive Knowles, of the British Ironwork Centre, said: “The whole initiative aims to remove 100,000 knives from our streets and do some good. We are using knives collected from police forces across the country.

“The art piece shows that we can all work together and shows that as a nation we are against knife violence. It is going to be quite something.”

Knife surrender bins are in a number of police front counter offices across the Thames Valley until Sunday in support of London Metropolitan Police’s initiative, Operation Sceptre.

Supt Richard James, from Neighbourhood Policing and Partnerships, said: “It is important that we continue to ensure people understand that carrying a knife makes an individual more likely to be a victim of knife crime themselves.

“We are proud to be able to take part in such an inspiring project alongside police forces and colleagues nationwide.”