A knife amnesty bin has been installed in Swindon as part of a community group’s efforts to deter people from carrying weapons.

Owen’s World was set up by family and friends of 18-year-old Owen Dunn, who was the victim of a fatal stabbing in the Haydon End area on December, 4 2022.

Since then, Owen’s mum Zoe Mitchell has worked to raise awareness of knife crime, by hosting talks in schools, holding fundraising events and campaigning for the installation of 13-bleed control kits around Swindon.

The knife amnesty bin, which has been fitted to the rear of John Moulton Hall Community Centre in the Penhill estate where Owen grew up, shows a picture of him with the words “bin your knife here without fear of prosecution.”

Owen DunnOwen Dunn (Image: Submitted)

 Zoe said: “I’m pleased we’ve got one up at Penhill – the first of many. We’ve not had any negative feedback, so I think the community are pleased about it.

“There’s good days and bad days but it’s like my therapy doing it, it gets me through each day.

“We’re still rolling the bleed kits out and we’re still doing the talks at schools. We’ve just done one at Ruskin School which went really well, so it’s all going well.”

She told the Adver back in June: “I know there will be kids who won’t listen to me, but a knife doesn’t necessarily protect you.

“Owen thought taking a knife out would protect him but just don’t do it, go speak to someone – a trusted person like a parent or teacher - tell them if you are frightened or thinking about it."

READ MORE: Family of murdered teenager Owen Dunn to hold fundraising events

Jo Davis, founder of Owen's World Foundation, said: "I just hope people use it, I think they're a bit wary of using the bins put there by police because they think they're going to trick them with cameras. Hopefully they'll be a bit more inclined to use ours. 

"A lot of people have said we've definitely made an impact. It's nice to hear because it keeps us going, but it's difficult because every time we do it, Owen's obviously on your mind.

"The more bins we get out, the better, because they won't have to travel from area to area to dispose of them and will be less likely to get into trouble. We're looking at West Swindon next."