Two Leeds boys have been left shaken and scared to go out after they were threatened by another young person with a knife just seconds from their front door.
12-year-old Billy Metcalf and 11-year-old Alfie Harrison spent their Sunday afternoon playing football on the field either side of South Hill Rise in Belle Isle - in view of Alfie's house. When they got tired, the boys went to sit down on a nearby gate at the edge of the field.
Sat there, they were approached by a group of kids aged 10 to 12. Billy described how one of the members of the group pulled out a knife as one of the others told the boys: "Don't think she isn't scared to use it".
Read more: Leeds woman earns extra £200 per month just by watching Netflix
The boys ran back to Alfie's house, and said the knife was thrown in their direction - though they're not sure if it was intended to be. For Billy, the incident left him particularly shaken, as less than two years ago his cousin Jack Woodley was tragically stabbed to death as he walked home in Sunderland.
"My hands were shaking," Billy told LeedsLive. "I don't want to play out or anything because what if something happens or another group does that again?"
His mum Charlene Mann, 35, added: "Billy has been traumatised since his cousin died and has this massive fear about being stabbed - now this has happened he doesn't want to walk to the school bus. We've seen what happens first hand.
"Jack was only 18 and was out doing nothing wrong. It's left me scared of Billy playing out. It left me shaking when I heard what had happened and I came running round. I really don't want this fear to take over Billy's life."
Alfie's mum Stacey Harrison, 30, was in when the boys rushed back, and phoned the police immediately before phoning Charlene. The boys described the knife and the group to the operator, and West Yorkshire Police officers went to the area and were able to confiscate a knife.
Billy and Alfie have stayed off from school since the incident out of worry about it happening again.
"Alfie knows knives are bad but he doesn't have that first-hand experience Billy does," Stacey said. "He thought it was okay when they first started getting strange looks from this group and then obviously started panicking.
"It's really stressed me out. It's a massive problem and I think those kids probably thought it was hilarious. We're very protective of our kids and obviously have spoken to them about not carrying weapons - and don't let them go too far from home when they're playing out."
Charlene's nephew Jack died in an unprovoked attack by a gang as he walked home from a funfair in October 2021. 10 teenagers received life sentences for his killing under the joint enterprise principle - though nine have since been granted the right to appeal.
Jack's mum Zoey McGill (Charlene's sister) released a photo of Jack in intensive care before his death, saying 'something needed to be done' about knife crime. "I remember waking up in the middle of the night when it happened and mum was crying and said she needed to go to the hospital," Billy said.
"I rang my sister as soon as I heard and she told me to drive straight up to Sunderland," Charlene said. "It was like nothing else I'd experienced in my life - I can't really put into words how bad it was.
"Having gone through that with my sister, who has done a lot of work against knife crime since, I know how differently this situation could have gone. Something needs to be done.
"Billy and Alfie are nice boys with good manners who would do anything for anyone. They shouldn't be stuck at home scared."
Stacey added: "We need kids like this to know it's not okay to carry knives."
Wayne Dixon, local councillor for Middleton Park ward, has organised a meeting, supported by the police, between local organisations and councillors to discuss tackling knife crime after a teenager was stabbed in January near Middleton Park Avenue. He told LeedsLive: "I don't have worries about knife crime here just yet, but we have seen more incidents than previously and I decided to get everyone together after the Middleton Park Avenue incident.
"I want to support young people and make sure we break that cycle of crime before it does become a problem here. We need parents to talk to their kids and really reinforce how knives are never the answer and having one can be a danger to yourself as well as others."
The families spoke the day after a 17-year-old boy was tragically stabbed to death in Huddersfield - as two teenagers were arrested on suspicion of his murder. This is after Khayri Mclean, 15, was stabbed to death as he left school in Huddersfield in September - which two teenagers are also standing trial for.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), West Yorkshire recorded 2,395 serious offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in the year ending June 2022 - more than any other Yorkshire police force. This is a 6% increase of the previous year's figure of 2,270 - though a much larger increase from the 1,412 knife offences recorded in the year ending March 2011.
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: "At 4.47pm on Sunday (Feb 19) police received a report of youths having been seen with a knife in the vicinity of Broom Terrace, Belle Isle.
"Officers were deployed to the area and spoke to a group of children, aged 10 to 12, who passed officers a small kitchen knife that fitted the description, which they said they had found and were intending to hand to police. Officers ran checks on those involved and investigated the circumstances and were satisfied that there were no criminal offences. Appropriate advice was given, and the knife was recovered for destruction.
"West Yorkshire Police continues to take a robust and proactive approach to tackling knife crime involving young people in our communities using a range of tactics, including weapons sweeps of areas to recover hidden knives. We encourage anyone who has information on those who carry knives to contact us so we can continue to take positive action to keep our communities safe."
Read next:
