Bristol residents hand petition to 10 Downing Street

4.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 17th Apr 2007

On Tuesday 17th April, Bristol City councillors and pupils from Bristol were joined by Bristol West MP, Stephen Williams, as they handed in a petition with over one thousand signatures to 10 Downing Street.

The petition comes in the wake of a number of serious incidents of knife crime in urban areas across the UK. The petition calls for the sentence for carrying a knife to be extended from two years to seven years.

Bristol West MP, Stephen Williams, commented:

"I am proud to join local councillors and pupils to bring this petition to the Prime Minister's attention. I hope that Government will take note of the many Bristol residents who are backing this move to deter knife crime in our country."

Also commenting, Cllr Shirley Marshall said:

"I've been involved in this campaign since the beginning and it's fantastic to have finally delivered the petition to Downing Street. I hope that this petition will play a key role in moving towards a reduction in knife crime both in Bristol and across the UK."