Bleed kits installed across Norfolk after fatal stabbing of teenager
Life-saving equipment will be put in various locations across Norfolk after a teenager was murdered last year.
South Norfolk Council has agreed to put bleed kits in all their leisure centres to be used to treat injuries and wounds.
It comes after James Quigley was stabbed to death in front of shoppers in Ipswich in 2023, as part of a dispute between rival Norfolk-based gangs.
Since then, his mother, Margaret Oakes, has been campaigning to get the kits installed in public areas.
Margaret Oakes said: "I see it as James will not die in vain. It keeps him very close to me, it keeps him with me, it keeps me going but it's saving a life and it's saving other families maybe going through a trauma like mine."
"You've got young kids even thinking it's the thing to do now. But it's not. You're taking someone's life.
"You ruin that family's life as well. Our life has been ruined every day since and I think the law needs to get stronger. We need a life for a knife."
James Quigley was stabbed to death in front of shoppers in Ipswich on 17 January last year, as part of a dispute between rival Norfolk-based gangs.
Alfie Hammett, 19, and Joshua Howell, 19, chased Mr Quigley and a friend before fleeing the scene, leaving their victim to stagger to a nearby shop and die in the street.
At Ipswich Crown Court, both killers were handed life sentences, with Hammett ordered to serve a minimum of 24 years, and Howell a minimum of 20 years.
The kits will contain dressings and gauze for stopping blood flow.
A councillor from South Norfolk council says he thinks all public areas should have a bleed kit.
Cllr Gary Blundell says: "Whether you're a taxi driver, a bus driver, a leisure centre like here today, a shop, a nightclub, a pub.
"Every single venue that the public has access to should have one of these and the staff should be trained in using them just like they're trained to use defibs."
Margaret is hoping to hold awareness sessions for young people and says she hopes the kits will "give others the chance" her son never got.
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