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Stabbing survivor says bleed kit can save lives

Simon Jones,in Favershamand
Tanya Gupta,South East
News imageBBC Charlie Weatherley sits next to a path in a public park, facing the camera. He wears a black T-shirt with white printed text. Behind him, a wide grassy area stretches out with trees, houses and parked cars visible in the distance. The path curves slightly and is bordered by grass on both sides.BBC
Charlie Weatherley said the trauma of being stabbed had stayed with him

A teenager from Eastbourne who was stabbed in a drugs deal that went wrong has said lives could be saved after a bleed kit was installed in Faversham.

The kits contain bandages and tourniquets which can be used by the public to treat people with serious bleeding until emergency services arrive.

Charlie Weatherley, now 18, was stabbed twice at the age of 15 and said the impact had stayed with him.

The kit installed at Faversham Recreation Ground is the 24th in the South East, supported by anti-knife crime campaigner Carl Scott, who has been appointed an MBE for services to the protection of young people.

Weatherley told how he was left "bleeding out" after being attacked.

"I was dying. They were very, very bad – serious injuries," he said. "It shows you that one thing can last seconds but really traumatise you for years and that's what it's done for me.

"That fight lasted about a minute and it's three years coming up. Now it's never something that's not on my mind – it's always there for me."

News imageCarl Scott stands beside a bright red emergency bleed control kit mounted on a brick wall, next to a yellow defibrillator box with a green front. The red box has a keypad lock and white text explaining how to access it, including instructions to use an app or call police. Scott wears a short-sleeved green T-shirt and has tattoos on one arm and neck.
Carl Scott said the kit could help save lives

Scott said: "So many young people, adults, are also being injured by knife crime, bladed articles, domestic violence, street attacks, gang attacks, terrorism.

"There's so many different incidents where knives are used, so these [bleed kits] are very important to have in the community.

"The stuff that's inside here can stem a bleed very, very quickly so they don't bleed out and die."

Knife crime offences have been falling in the South East, but Home Office figures show there were still 940 reported offences in Sussex last year, 881 in Kent and more than 400 in Surrey.

News imageAn opened red emergency bleed control box mounted on a brick wall, showing a red zip-up kit inside labelled “Public Access Bleed Control Kit – Emergency Use Only – Call 999”. The box interior is lined with reflective silver insulation material. On the inside of the door is a large instruction panel with diagrams outlining steps for treating severe bleeding, including calling 999 and using items. A keypad entry system is visible on the right side of the box for controlled access.
People can use an app or call the police to access the kit

Criminologist Dr Simon Harding said such incidents remained rare and were unlikely to involve random members of the public.

"We need to remember of course that it is still a relatively rare occurrence," he said.

News imageAlison Reynolds stands in the foreground of a large open grassy park, facing the camera. The person wears a black top and a light-coloured patterned jacket with a circular brooch. A wide green field extends behind them with scattered trees and a line of denser woodland in the distance. The sky is overcast with grey clouds, creating soft, diffuse lighting across the scene.
Alison Reynolds said it was important to have the equipment

People can use an app or call police to get a code to open the box and access the equipment.

Alison Reynolds, from the Friends of Faversham Cottage Hospital, which funded the kit, said: "I hadn't realised how quickly someone dies when they've been stabbed maybe in a leg, or an arm.

"It's so quick you've got to have the right equipment there."

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