A TEACHER is on a quest to persuade the borough’s schoolchildren not to carry knives.

Claire Baddley, aged 25, will lead a series of talks in high schools across Bury, urging youngsters to shun weapons.

The Home Office, which is running the six-month Tackling Knives Action Programme (TKAP), says it is not suggesting there is a particular problem with pupils carrying knives in Bury.

But because the Government does not require authorities, such as Bury Council, to keep figures on how many children are caught with knives in schools, the scale of the problem is hard to measure.

As well as talking to classes, Claire will mentor young people one-to-one and encourage them to join groups which run sports and cultural visits to broaden their horizons.

Claire, of Fairfax Road, Prestwich, is a trained teacher who works with Christian charity YMCA. She said: “The profile of knife crime has risen dramatically, so many young people carry a knife to feel safe.

“This programme aims to break that vicious circle and persuade teenagers that there are ways of avoiding an attack without resorting to wielding a knife.”

She added: “The solution to this problems lies in getting young people to face up to the dangers of carrying a weapon before they are persuaded to take to the streets armed with a knife.”

TKAP project manager Maxine Looby said: “Some of the young people Claire will be working with have never even been out of their neighbourhood.

“That leaves them with very limited ambitions and makes it too easy to join a gang and become involved in postcode violence.

“With the help of the community, we aim to find something that widens their outlook and is ultimately more rewarding.”

Any school that would like to participate can contact independent training provider Rathbone Bury by emailiing bury@rathboneuk.org or calling 0161 762 5740.