Major update in Birmingham ‘hit-and-run collision’ as police issue statement<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nHowever, he was soon involved in the supply of Class A drugs via County Lines networks and on a spiralling slope out of his control.<\/p>\n
Speaking as part of Staffordshire Police’s Ditch the Blade campaign, which raises awareness around the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife, he said: “I started by carrying a knife and ended up being groomed by criminals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe signs must have been there but at the time I just didn\u2019t realise it. I surrounded myself with the wrong crowd, people who weren\u2019t interested in an education and making something of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anthony\u2019s decision to carry was fuelled by feelings of wanting to belong on the streets of Stoke-on-Trent. He was 13 years old and so much around him reinforced his desire to fit in.<\/p>\n
\u201cSocial media and music fed into the whole thing, glamorising knives and the idea that carrying a knife was somehow cool,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started not listening to teachers, stealing and bunking off school. Carrying a knife made me feel like I was on top. I got caught a few times for possession, but it didn\u2019t stop me because it was just a lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n
But things got much worse for him. It wasn\u2019t until Anthony began going missing from home that the reality of what he had become embroiled in came to light.<\/p>\n
Since being introduced to a man by his young friends, he\u2019d been falling deeper into the murky world of county lines drug trading, where dealers recruit young people by offering them money and other incentives.<\/p>\n
He was groomed very quickly by the organised crime gang (OCG). In only a matter of weeks he was involved in the supply of Class A drugs in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I hadn\u2019t been carrying a knife, those people wouldn\u2019t have targeted me,\u201d Anthony said. \u201cIt played into their hands and made me vulnerable to exploitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know I was being exploited at first. I thought I was just hanging around with friends, having a laugh. He talked about his lifestyle, what we could achieve, money wise, and was giving us stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
After months of coercion, Anthony attempted to leave. In response, his exploiters kidnapped him and used threats and intimidation to try to force him back into compliance.<\/p>\n
This incident became the turning point when he fully recognised that he was being exploited rather than \u2018helped\u2019 or \u2018included\u2019 by the group.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was scared and confused. He\u2019d come along as a friendly person giving us free stuff. It was a very bad reality check.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anthony\u2019s experience highlights how the contradiction of a desire to enter adulthood and the childish who\u2019s-harder-than-who bravado of carrying a knife can be so dangerous.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of my friends carried a knife and ended up in prison after he got involved in a fight. One thing led to another; he\u2019s used it and unfortunately the person has passed away,” he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEducating young people about the impact that carrying a knife can have on them and others is really important and I think hearing from people with lived experience, who\u2019ve been there and done that if you like, hits home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019ve decided to share my story. Every young person needs a reality check about carrying knives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fast forward to today and Anthony\u2019s story has a happy ending. Or his new story has a happy beginning. He has a family of his own and is set on establishing his own business.<\/p>\n
He keeps in touch with those in authority who managed to gain his trust, including officers and staff from our violence reduction team (VRT).<\/p>\n
One person, who worked closely with him, said: \u201cHis story is the stuff of nightmares and underscores the potential serious consequences of young people carrying a knife; not just the risk of physical harm to themselves and others, but the fact it can make them a target for criminals. He was sold a dream of being a gangster by these people.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing that really sticks with me is when he said he just wished he\u2019d told somebody sooner. It\u2019s OK to tell someone, a professional, whether that\u2019s the police, social care, a teacher, someone from YOS [youth offending service], or a parent or family member.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if you think you are doing something wrong, just trust someone please.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another officer added: \u201cWould he have been a target if he hadn\u2019t picked that knife up? I think not. It can almost be a gateway into exploitation for these kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you have concerns someone you know may be carrying a knife or be involved in knife crime you can reach out anonymously for advice and support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“Anthony” is a former young offender in Staffordshire who has spoken on his shocking experience at the front…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":593777,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,748,393,4884,604,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-593776","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-staffordshire","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115612901512416080","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/593777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=593776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=593776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Pic](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_teen1JPG.jpg\")
Pic posed by model(Image: Staffs Police)<\/p>\n