A High Wycombe charity has been handed thousands of pounds in a bid to help tackle knife crime in the town.

The Home Office has awarded £20,000 to Wycombe Youth Action (WYA) – a charity that helps to create better opportunities for young people in the Wycombe District – to be used to fight crimes involving weapons.

The charity recently celebrated its 35th anniversary and has been given £19,998 to run a programme to improve young people’s understanding of knife crime and gang violence, and increase their self-esteem and positive contribution to their communities.

The money comes from the Government’s Knife Crime Community Fund, which this year awarded £765,000 to charities and community projects across the country that work with young people and help local communities respond to the issue of knife crime.

It comes following a string of stabbings in High Wycombe in the last few years. On April 22 last year, Thames Valley Police were called to Totteridge Park, off Walton Drive, at 5.25pm following reports of a stabbing.

A 14-year-old boy suffered stab wounds to his leg, chest and arm when he was allegedly approached by a group of around 20 males.

Then in June, the son of former town mayor Khalil Ahmed, Akeel Ahmed, and his friend were stabbed in the Eden Shopping Centre, with 22-year-old thug Aiden George, of Spearing Road, jailed for more than five years.

Two months later, a man was stabbed in the cheek in an alleyway leading from Micklefield Road to Hawthorn Road in the early hours of August 13.

In the nearby village of Penn on Halloween, a teenager was left with injuries to his leg after he was stabbed in a fight at the playing fields near Ashley Drive.

Minister for crime, safeguarding and vulnerability Victoria Atkins said: “Knife crime has devastating consequences, and this Government is determined to do all it can to break the deadly cycle.

“The excellent work done by people in local communities is one of the most effective ways of tackling knife crime and making sure young people make the right choices.

“I am delighted to be able to announce this funding, which will help a large number of vital organisations to continue to expand their work and support communities. 

“We are taking robust action against knife crime, including consulting on laws to restrict the sale of knives and developing a Serious Violence Strategy. The Knife Crime Community Fund is another important step towards stamping out the scourge of knife crime and keeping our communities safe.”