Giant bee will carry sting in weapons fight
Anti-violence sculpture being made from thousands of knives and guns taken off Manchester streets
KNIVES, guns and other weapons taken off the streets of Greater Manchester will be turned into a giant ‘Manchester bee’ sculpture.
The initiative is the brainchild of the organisation behind the 27ft-high ‘Knife Angel’ sculpture, made from 100,000 knives surrendered to police forces.
The towering monument tours the country as a powerful anti-violence symbol.
The British Ironwork Centre, based in Oswestry, Shropshire, said it has worked alongside Greater Manchester Police on the bee monument concept.
The finished sculpture will be ‘placed in a very prominent position’ in the city - and used by GMP as an educational tool.
The weapons were surrendered as part of the force’s ‘Forever Knife Amnesty’, which began in September last year.
Secure knife bins are now permanently available at police stations across Greater Manchester. Almost 1,000 knives and other bladed weapons were handed in over the course of just the first five months.
Images released by the force showed the extent of the deadly haul, which included swords, machetes, meat cleavers and even a Ninja-style throwing star. There were also kitchen knives and ornamental blades, alongside fake guns and other firearms.
The British Ironwork Centre said a lorry dropped off ‘thousands’ of the weapons to its foundry in July - all of which had been collected from the streets of Manchester.
“Manchester is the first location in the UK to develop and commit to an ongoing amnesty project like this, with all collected weapons to be used to create an anti-violence monument for the city,” the centre said in a statement.
“Taking inspiration from Manchester’s bee symbolism, the monument will take on the form of a giant bee, watching over the city and providing a reminder of a stance against violent and aggressive behaviour.”
Manchester’s worker bee symbol has grown in significance since the Manchester Arena terror attack of 2017, which claimed 22 lives.
The centre said the bee monument would ‘symbolise the city’s complete intolerance to all forms of violent behaviour’, adding that the ‘variety and sheer volume of weapons delivered was a stark reminder that our need to suppress violence is a continual effort that requires a continual focus’.
“Meetings and dialogue with GMP will continue to refine this project and will hopefully see a final design, location and timeline for completion being decided upon soon.”