The Government has launched a campaign aimed at showing the consequences of carrying a knife. JAMES COOK looks at this disturbing aspect of youth crime.

A RECENT spate of knife- related killings in Britain has led to the public perception that knife crime is out of control.

While statistics from the Metropolitan Police show knife crime has dropped over the past two years, there is still a knife-related incident in this country every 52 minutes.

A belief that an increasing number of young people are arming themselves with knives has led to a graphic Government campaign which aims to shock youngsters.

As part of the £3 million campaign, images of real-life injuries inflicted by knives are being shown in newspaper adverts and on the internet through social networking sites, such as Bebo.

Campaigners will also distribute postcards of a young person's hand that had been cut during a knife attack.

Eighteen teenagers from England and Wales came up with the ideas at a summit in April and it is hoped the pictures will make youths think twice about carrying knives.

The issue of knife crime has been propelled into the public eye after a number of fatal stabbings, including that of 18-year-old Rob Knox, who was murdered outside a pub in Sidcup, Kent, this week.

The problem is not limited to London and an attack in July last year left York resident Gary Short, 22, lying in a pool of blood fearing for his life.

He had been stabbed by a teenager, who he thought was his friend, with a blade of up to six inches long after an argument in the teenager's home.

The attack left Mr Short scarred and suffering from depression which forced him to give up his job.

Earlier this year, a weapon amnesty in York and Selby lead to more than 60 knives being handed in to North Yorkshire police.

Combat knives, pocket knives and even a meat cleaver were handed in to police as part of a large cross-borders operation.

A series of adverts aimed at parents will run alongside the hard-hitting campaign aimed at young people. Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said it was a parent's duty to help fight the knife crime epidemic.

He said: "To parents it is tough love time. In addition to conversations about drink, drugs and relationships there are now conversations about knives.

"The most common knife involved in these deaths is a knife from the kitchen and we must have conversations about knife crime with teenagers.

"It is of critical importance that young people understand that carrying a knife is not cool and that choosing to carry a knife puts a young person at high risk of killing someone else, of being injured themselves and of going to prison.

"Ultimately, the aim is to encourage not only those whom young people respect and listen to, to champion this approach, but also to find champions among young people themselves."

The adverts can be seen at www.itdoesnthavetohappen.co.uk