Third stabbing in 12 days in Milton Keynes despite city's special Knife Angel campaign

Police have now released details of a stabbing that took place in Wolverton Mill late last night (Wednesday)

A man in his 40s was rushed to hospital with stab wounds but is today in a stable condition, say police.

The incident took place at around 11pm in Walker Avenue, in a car parking area near a children’s nursery. The scene is currently taped off and forensic officers are present.

Sadly this is the third stabbing in just 12 days in MK – despite the city’s official ‘month of action against violence’ campaign during December.

The campaign was run by police, Milton Keynes City Council, MK Dons Sports and Educational Trust and The Safety Centre Charity Hazard Alley in partnership with community organisations.

It was marked by the loan of the famous 27-ft tall Knife Angel Statue, which was erected outside MK Stadium at the beginning of December.

The first spate of knife crimes flared two days before Christmas, when police were forced to impose a Section 60 stop and search order on much of the city following “multiple incidents of violence and disorder” involving knives and weapons.

One of these was the stabbing of an 18-year-old on Midsummer Boulevard on the evening of Friday December 23.

The young man was with friends when they were attacked by a group of males. He sustained “puncture wounds to his torso” before the group fled, say police.

Then, in the early hours of Christmas Day, another 18-year-old male received a stab wound to his lower chest after an altercation broke out near the taxi rank outside Pink Punters in Bletchley.

Luckily trained staff from Pink Punters were at the scene within seconds to administer life saving treatment special anti-bleed packs the nightclub holds.

The same week, Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber had warned of the tough consequences of being caught carrying a knife in Milton Keynes.

He described how Operation Deter was launched in the summer, following four fatal stabbing in just a 13 week period in MK at the beginning of 2022.

Since then, local police have been taking a zero-tolerance approach to people who choose to carry knives on city streets, said the PCC.

Their aim is to seek out and swiftly charge culprits before they go on to commit other offences.

"This preventative approach seeks to take dangerous people off the streets and help to challenge the culture of knife carrying amongst some young people, hoping to deter others from risking lives,” said Mr Barber.

He added: “We have begun to see tougher sentences being imposed on those found guilty of carry knives in Thames Valley. And this, combined with a swift response from the police, means that many are now finding themselves stopped, held overnight, in court the next day and beginning many months in prison.”

Meanwhile police are today appealing for witnesses or anyone with information about last night’s Wolverton Mill stabbing.

A spokesman said: “An investigation into the incident is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call 101 or make a report online quoting reference number 43230005378.”