Bleed kits rolled out ready to help West Midlands stabbing victims

The life-saving packs, which include bandages, have been paid for by the region's police and crime commissioner, David Jamieson.

A total of 227 kits, which also include tourniquets and gloves, have been rolled out across the Black Country and the wider region.

It comes as figures show knife crime has doubled in the region since 2012 – with the hope the kits will help stabbing victims survive.

Mr Jamieson, who is aiming for the number of kits to rise to 400, said: "The bleed-control kits are a simple yet smart idea that have been designed to save a life. That is why I took little convincing that we should roll them out across our region.

"Sadly, knife crime has been rising across the country in the last decade, and so too has the number of fatalities. These new kits are good value for money and if they save just one life then they will have been worth the investment.

"I’d also like to praise Lynne Baird for her excellent tireless work on this issue. Without her none of this would have been possible.”

They have been put in bars, pubs, shopping centres and schools in the four areas along with Birmingham, Solihull and in Coventry. They are designed to be easy to use and to keep an injured person alive until they can receive treatment from a paramedic or doctor.

The campaign has been spearheaded by Lynne Baird who lost her son Daniel in July 2017 after he was stabbed to death in Birmingham. She has since set up the Daniel Baird Foundation which campaigns for bleed control kits to be placed in locations that are easily accessible to the public.

Lynne Baird, who has been campaigning for the kits to be rolled out since the tragic death of her son Daniel, said: "Sadly in 2017, when my boy was attacked, there wasn’t a first aid kit to hand in the area. Had there been, then Daniel might still be with us today.

"I would love it if these kits could be placed in every busy area of the West Midlands. We know how important it is that when someone is stabbed, cut or injured that they receive first aid treatment straight away. These kits are designed to save lives and I’m delighted so many are now in areas near to where they are needed most."