Coleg Cambria: Dragon sculpture made of thousands of weapons to breathe fire into knife awareness campaign

A four-metre dragon constructed from thousands of weapons will breathe fire into a knife awareness campaign.

The stunning metal sculpture is being built at Coleg Cambria’s Bersham Road site, in partnership with North Wales Police and Wrexham Council.

Lecturer John Freeman and students have been safely welding and fabricated confiscated items – including samurai swords, bayonets, kitchen knives and knuckle dusters – and constructing them on steel frames.

He expects the statue – which is of a dragon protecting a child – to be completed later this year.

It will then be placed on a plinth of Welsh stone slate in front of the college’s Institute of Technology, with red, white, and green lighting to represent the dragon sitting amongst the remnants of a Welsh Castle.

Later it will be used as the centrepiece for multi-agency work nationwide, educating people to the dangers of knife crime.

“We are definitely getting there, the dragon has really come together and while we have pictures of what it will look like there has also been a lot of creativity and imagination involved,” said John.

“Our young learners have been assisting me in shaping the metal and welding, so as well as piecing together this amazing sculpture – which will do so much to promote the dangers of knife crime – it is developing their skills for their future careers and will be an incredible legacy for them and for Coleg Cambria.”

Karl Jackson, Assistant Principal for the Institute of Technology and Site Lead at Bersham Road, has been holding regular offensive weapons and knife crime awareness talks with learners at the college.

He said the dragon – which is yet to be named – will play a major role in supporting police and local authority campaigns.

“As a work of art, it is absolutely breathtaking, John and the learners have done an amazing job,” said Karl.

“They have made so much progress despite this being a laborious process, as the dragon is crafted and constructed with health and safety the number one priority.”

He added: “We have been regularly collecting the weapons, which have been handed in to police or confiscated, for a couple of years now and the amount is quite staggering. It is important these knives are off the streets and being used for good.

“Some of the blades and weapons are also being safely used in presentations and talks with our learners, so we can raise awareness to what is a nationwide issue.”

Councillor Paul Roberts, Wrexham’s Lead Member for Partnerships and Community Safety, described the sculpture as a “stunning piece of art” and said: “The Knife Dragon, which was inspired by the Knife Angel which visited Wrexham in 2022, will serve as a reminder of the devastating impact that knife crime can have on our communities.

“I look forward to seeing the finished sculpture and know it will be a valuable tool in youth education going forward.”

North Wales Police Inspector Heidi Stokes added: “While knife crime offences remain thankfully low in Wrexham, it is important for us all to act to drive them down still further.

“Knives are dangerous and there is no place for them on our streets. Every incident involving a knife has consequences for all those involved, and so this is an issue we take extremely seriously.

“As such, it is particularly important we can create opportunities to highlight knife crime and what we can do to prevent it.

“The Knife Dragon offers a way in which we can work with our partners on a project that just might prevent another tragedy, made with weapons we have seized from our own streets; they will never again be in position to harm anyone.

“By working with our partners, we will continue to educate, enforce, and act on any information given to us to bring those involved in this type of offending to justice.”

For more information, email [email protected] or visit www.cambria.ac.uk.

If you have concerns about knife crime, call North Wales Police on 101 or CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Alternatively, visit www.fearless.org/en/give-info.