A groom who was stabbed along with his best man at a wedding party in the garden of an East Sussex home has said knife crime is "not just in London"
Joe Pattenden Hunt spoke after being attacked on Saturday evening at celebrations in Crowborough held a month after his wedding in June.
The pair were attacked after a group of gatecrashers disrupted the party.
Matthew Gould, 23, of Crowborough, has been charged with two counts of GBH. Police said the incident was "rare".
The 27-year-old said: "I did feel very frightened. I was going very faint. I was just trying to stay awake, and was sort of aware of what felt like a lot of blood.
"I could see a lot of blood and I was very worried for my best man and myself."
ISOLATED INCIDENT
Mr Pattenden Hunt said: "I've lived here in this lovely country location for 27 years and always felt very lucky and fortunate for being here - and then for something like this to happen.
"Crowborough is usually quite a sleepy little country town and these people are here - they're not just in London."
He said 80 guests had gathered at his father's house in Stone Cross on Saturday evening to celebrate his marriage to Laura, 27, on the Isles of Scilly.
The party was for those who missed the ceremony, but a group of gatecrashers also turned up.
The groom said he was knifed in the arm, while his best man was stabbed in the cheek, neck, chest, back and stomach.
Matthew Gould, of Alderbrook Close, appeared before magistrates in Brighton on Monday charged with possessing a bladed article in a public place and two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Showing posts with label Monday 28th July 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monday 28th July 2008. Show all posts
Monday, 11 August 2008
Young people's knife crime fears
More than half (55%) of young people fear becoming victims of knife crime in the summer months, a survey has shown.
The poll, commissioned by BBC London, surveyed 501 people aged 13 to 18 in the London boroughs of Brent, Croydon, Hackney, Lambeth, and Southwark.
The survey also revealed 75% do not think London Mayor Boris Johnson and the government will be able to reduce knife crime over the coming months.
Mr Johnson said his office will tackle the issue make a long-term difference.
He added: "I think its going to be a counsel of despair to say that we can't make a difference, that this is all beyond us.
SURVEY FINDINGS
75% disagree London Mayor Boris Johnson and the government will be able to reduce knife crime in London over the coming months
84% say it has become easier to buy a knife
26% think they will more likely be the victim of gun or knife crime than gain a good qualification
41% feel those carrying weapons should get longer sentences
6% say they have been pressured into joining a gang
63% say they feel the police are unable to protect them
"We are making a difference with the policing solutions, with the stop and search, lifting knives off the streets and we are going to be making a difference in the long-term by changing the lives of kids who are currently going wrong."
Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor for Policing, said: "It's about intervening in schools and a cultural change to stop people carrying knives."
"The survey also says that the major reason for young people carrying knives is to get 'respect' and one of the things we have to do as a society is show them how unglamorous it is actually to carry a knife."
About 45% of respondents said they knew someone who had been a victim of knife crime.
That is up from 33% last year, when the poll was last conducted in the same boroughs and among the same age group.
Fear of being a victim of crime has increased to 32% from 26% last year as a reason for people carrying weapons.
The percentage of those young people who carry knives because they "want respect" has declined from 44% to 39%, but it remains the most popular perceived reason for doing so.
The proportion who say the same of gun crime has gone up from 17% to 22% since last November
The poll, commissioned by BBC London, surveyed 501 people aged 13 to 18 in the London boroughs of Brent, Croydon, Hackney, Lambeth, and Southwark.
The survey also revealed 75% do not think London Mayor Boris Johnson and the government will be able to reduce knife crime over the coming months.
Mr Johnson said his office will tackle the issue make a long-term difference.
He added: "I think its going to be a counsel of despair to say that we can't make a difference, that this is all beyond us.
SURVEY FINDINGS
75% disagree London Mayor Boris Johnson and the government will be able to reduce knife crime in London over the coming months
84% say it has become easier to buy a knife
26% think they will more likely be the victim of gun or knife crime than gain a good qualification
41% feel those carrying weapons should get longer sentences
6% say they have been pressured into joining a gang
63% say they feel the police are unable to protect them
"We are making a difference with the policing solutions, with the stop and search, lifting knives off the streets and we are going to be making a difference in the long-term by changing the lives of kids who are currently going wrong."
Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor for Policing, said: "It's about intervening in schools and a cultural change to stop people carrying knives."
"The survey also says that the major reason for young people carrying knives is to get 'respect' and one of the things we have to do as a society is show them how unglamorous it is actually to carry a knife."
About 45% of respondents said they knew someone who had been a victim of knife crime.
That is up from 33% last year, when the poll was last conducted in the same boroughs and among the same age group.
Fear of being a victim of crime has increased to 32% from 26% last year as a reason for people carrying weapons.
The percentage of those young people who carry knives because they "want respect" has declined from 44% to 39%, but it remains the most popular perceived reason for doing so.
The proportion who say the same of gun crime has gone up from 17% to 22% since last November
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