A sculpture made from 10,000 seized blades will be brought to Bolton as part of a national tour to illustrate the devastating impact of violent crime.

The Knife Angel ­— also know as National Monument Against Violence and Aggression ­— is a 20ft tall sculpture created entirely from seized blades.

The Angel was specifically designed to create social change by helping to raise better awareness of how violent and aggressive behaviour effects communities, by educating and encouraging youth to renounce violence as a means to solve problems, and by acting as a memorial for those lives lost to these actions.

The intention is to shock young people away from a life of violence and knife crime, which has had devastating consequences in Bolton.

Charities such as Bolton-based Round 4 Round and Be The Change are successfully discouraging many from a life of violent crime.

For those involved in youth charities around Bolton the arrival of the statue is something which has been needed for some time.

Founder of Be The Change, Daniel Sukula, said: “I have been talking to quite a few people about it including the police as it has never come anywhere near Bolton.

“To see it finally coming is amazing and it shows that Bolton is doing something about knife crime which focuses on and something which is impacting a lot of families in a lot of settings.”

Round 4 Round founder Nasir Akram believes there is a direct strategic alignment with the rolling out of the statue with the objectives to create better, safer communities.

He said: “We will be working on a project to coincide with the unveiling of the statue, so we can have the maximum impact on the youth target groups which may be susceptible to knife crime.”

Knife crime is an issue which remains prevalent in Bolton with 1.5 weapon possession offences per 1000 of the population.

Local charities believe that the statue is an important symbolic gesture, but the greatest impact needs to be made through actions on the ground.

Nasir said: “The statue is a very good symbolic gesture, but the greatest impact needs to be made through actions on the ground and round for round is proud to play a responsible role in turning their vision into a reality and making Bolton a knife-free zone.”

Daniel added: “It is an indication they are taking it seriously and talking about knife crime but more needs to be done”.

The Knife Angel will be unveiled in November.