Week of action as knife fears raised by residents

KNIFE sweeps are taking place in Widnes as part of Cheshire Constabulary’s neighbourhood policing week of action.

A force spokesman said issues for the campaign had been raised by residents.

Widnes has suffered a series of tragic fatal stabbings over the last decade in addition to multiple other serious incidents, including the murder of 42-year-old Rebecca Bamber killed by a former partner in 2014; the death of 43-year-old Lee Briggs who died by manslaughter following a single stab wound inflicted by a teenage drug dealer in 2016; and the killing of 49-year-old pub landlord Christian Thornton who was murdered outside The Hammer and Pincers on

Liverpool Road by a banned customer in 2019.

Cheshire police’s week of action will also involve officers engaging with residents via pop-up stalls and speaking with schools and youth teams.

The spokesman said the neighbourhood policing week of action is a national campaign where forces work together to showcase policing teams and their benefit to the public.

It involves maintaining routine police service alongside extra support on issues that have caused “particular concern to local residents”, in addition to social media updates.

Assistant Chief Constable Bill Dutton, Cheshire’s lead for neighbourhood policing, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the public to see how our neighbourhood teams work to keep their communities safe on a daily basis.

“There will be a variety of things going on in the next week that will offer an insight into some of the initiatives that are ongoing to make Cheshire a hostile place for criminals.

“The week will also allow local communities to speak with their policing teams to tell us about the issues they are experiencing so that we can have a positive impact.

“I would urge anyone who has any concerns in the neighbourhoods, whether it be antisocial behaviour through to drug-related activity, to get in touch with us.

“We will do the rest.”