Two grieving Fife mums whose lives have been torn apart by knife crime have urged the public to get behind a new campaign.
Susan Cleave, whose teenage son Connor was killed outside his Methilhill home earlier this month, is supporting a Facebook page No Knives In Fife.
The campaign also has the backing of June Martin, whose two children were stabbed to death by their father at their home in Buckhaven in 2008.
The Facebook group with the mission statement “Knives Cost Lives” was set up by Kennoway mum-of-three Amanda Scott in the wake of Connor’s tragic death in Simon Crescent on April 8.
A 22-year-old Leven man, Jamie Wishart, has since appeared in court charged with his murder. The incident rocked the close-knit community and Amanda said it was time to educate youngsters in a bid to prevent further tragedy.
“My daughter Morgan knew Connor and I felt we had to do something to stop this,” she said.
The page has attracted almost 2,300 supporters in just nine days and is gaining new backers every day. Connor’s mum Susan, who has six other sons and three daughters, said the teenager’s death had devastated the entire family.
“Connor would be happy that everyone has pulled together as a community in this fight,” she added.
The 17-year-old’s sister, Paige, 18, has also thrown her weight behind the campaign, saying it was a “really good thing”.
“What happened to Connor has devastated us,” she said.
“My mum doesn’t really let the bairns go out anymore because of it. She’s scared it will happen again.”
June Martin, who discovered the blood-soaked bodies of her children in their beds, said more needed to be done to keep people safe.
Michelle, 25, and seven-year-old Ryan had been stabbed a total of 25 times by their father, Robert Thomson, who is now serving a life sentence for their murder.
June said: “Knife crime happens in a few minutes of anger and rage which ends up with innocent needless deaths and heartbreak for all loved ones left to deal with the total devastation to their lives.
“Much more needs to be done to keep Fife safe. I fully support Amanda and her campaign.”
Amanda said the response to her Facebook page had been amazing.
“I went to Simon Crescent to lay down flowers and just thought something should be done about this,” she said.
“I only started the page last Sunday and already have more than 2,000 members. It’s something that’s affected people and we’ve had such a good response.”
Amanda has already been in talks with the police and Fife Council and hopes eventually to set up a charity.
“The aim is to educate people about the dangers of carrying knives and making them see the consequences,” she said.
“We need to raise awareness through education about the effects on their future, their families’ future and the wider community.”