The organisation is trying to tackle knife crime in a different way
A machete, a flick knife and two samurai swords handed into Lee Holmes (Image: Lee Holmes)
On the evening of July 9, Lee Holmes was given a machete, a flick knife and two samurai swords. It’s not what you’d normally expect a 50-year-old to be doing in his spare time.
But this forms part of Lee’s role at Wirral CP Boxing Club in Ellesmere Port. Lee has been part of the club for 34 years, starting off as a schoolboy boxer before becoming a coach and later a trustee. Lee also runs the Gloves Not Gangs and KnockOut Violence initiatives at the gym.
In recent years, the boxing club has raised money to get life-saving bleed kits distributed across the town to those who need it, as well as offering an amnesty for people to hand in their weapons to the club. The weapons are then sent to a company which recycles them into sports equipment.
In a Facebook post on a local group last week, Lee posted a picture of the weapons that had been handed in and said: “Just a couple of weeks ago, one of our gym members spoke to our Knockout Violence team, opening up about the realities of weapon addiction, life choices, and their serious repercussions.
“Since then, I’ve received calls from three individuals—each asking to remain anonymous—wanting to make a change. Tonight, I met with one of them. They came to see me and handed over a machete, a flick knife, and two samurai swords.
“This is more than just a handover—this is a powerful message to our community. It shows that the KnockOut Violence Project and Gloves Not Gangs are having a real impact.”
Lee told the ECHO that this offers an alternative to people who are uncomfortable with handing in their weapons to a police station.
Lee said: ”We try and put a post out at least once a week just so it’s in their face all the time. We didn’t want to start something up and then six months down the line say, ‘ah, forget that’.
“It’s trying to give the kids sustainable sustainability. It’s showing people that what we’re doing is working. I know another guy that’s bringing his knife in and he’s trying to turn his life around.”
Jane Holmes, Peter Phelan and Lee Holmes at Wirral CP Boxing Club(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Lee believes what the club is doing can help steer people on the right path. He said: “Let’s be realistic: the culture of knife crime at the minute is just getting worse because it’s a fashion thing with the kids.
“Mobile phones don’t help. Are we ever going to stop knife crime? No, not a chance. But we can certainly try and equip the town with life saving equipment and obviously try to educate the next generation that are coming through now about the choices they make.
“Our gym has always been a strong force here in our community anyway. We’ve always produced champions as a club. We’ve won every title that you can win from amateur, right through to professional. We’ve got a two time world champion at our gym who is now a coach.
“I think with what we’re doing now in regards to the gangs is reaching different people now. We’re seeing a different clientele coming in through the door – people who need a different type of help. People who are coming to speak to me don’t even tell their parents what they’re telling me. It’s about having trust with the kids.”
Gloves Not Gangs has been running for over a decade. Knockout Violence was set up last year after Lee’s cousin, Lloyd Velasquez, was killed in Ellesmere Port on May 1 2024. Ben Ruddock, of Kendal Drive, Great Sutton, Ellesmere Port, was found guilty of manslaughter at a trial last year.
Danny Adams, founder of an organisation called Blades Down, tried to save Lloyd, who was a member of the gym. Lee said: “Danny was crossing the road as it happened.
“She tried to do resuscitation, but unbeknown to her at the time, he’d been stuck through the heart several times.
“Me and Danny started working together afterwards and I think we’ve distributed 36 kits around the town now. We’ve got an app up and running that shows people where they are. We’re looking to put them in taxis as well.
Peter and Lee with a bleed control kit(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“On a good day, it takes 12 minutes for an ambulance to get to Ellesmere Port. You can bleed out in four minutes.”
Peter Phelan, 68, from Upton, is head coach and chairman of the club. Peter admitted he was taken aback when the weapons were handed in. He said: “I really couldn’t believe it that the size of them and the you’d be terrified if someone pulls something like that out on you.
“But thankfully, it shows that it’s working for the community. You think, hey, we’re doing something right here.”
Peter says the club started life in 1981 as Vauxhall Motors Amateur Boxing Club. Like the football team, it was affiliated to the town’s Vauxhall car plant. The club moved from the club’s grounds to Little Sutton in 2000. After the company decided to end affiliation with the club in 2011, a huge fundraising campaign was launched to keep the club going.
While it remains open now, Peter and Lee say they are always on the lookout for new sponsors.
Cheshire Police have worked with the club on tackling knife crime. Commenting on its work, Chief Inspector Dan Reynolds said: “Clubs like these which divert young people away from crime and help to teach them discipline and respect as well as fitness is a bonus for the community and the young people the clubs support and encourage.
“If the club’s work also gets the message across to young people about the dangers of knife crime and saves just one person from harm, it is a success.
“Clubs which focus on our young people are vital for enriching our communities, and those who work hard to keep them up and running are commendable.”