"In Liam's memory please drop the knife and save your life" - Julie Taylor speaks out on grandson's 24th birthday
Liam Taylor died at the age of 19 after a fatal stabbing in Writtle
On what would be her grandson's 24th birthday, a grandmother from Chelmsford is urging people to stop carrying knives.
Liam Taylor was 19 when he was fatally stabbed outside a pub in Writtle in January 2020, his grandmother Julie has spearheaded a campaign to prevent similar tragedies. With over £37,000 raised through the Liam Taylor Legacy crowdfunding page, Julie is determined to provide lifesaving catastrophic bleed kits to various venues across the region.
Ever since his death, his family have been campaigning to eradicate knife crime.
On Liam's 24th heavenly birthday, Julie has spoken with Greatest Hits Radio about how knife crime ripples through families.
Julie said: "So today should be a happy day in our family, a day where we're buying a birthday cake, a day where we're celebrating.
"But we won't be buying a birthday cake because Liam's now missed five of his birthdays.
"His heavenly 24th birthday, we lost him at 19 years old, he's never coming back and it is so sad. It doesn't matter its not a milestone birthday, 21st, 30th, 50th. It's a birthday, another year of his life that he lost due to knife crime."
Campaigning in Liam's memory is something Julie is doing every day, having given up her job full time now to continue the fight against knife crime.
Operation Sceptre
Liam's 24th birthday falls on Operation Sceptre, a national knife crime campaign being run this week.
Julie said: "Its a battle every day with knife crime for our whole country. The police are doing an excellent job, they're putting their lives at risk as well, but it's not going away and we've got to do everything in our power to try and control it.
"When you have children as young as ten running around with knives, this is not normal"
"Next week Ben Kinsella is actually having a knife crime awareness week as well. So on top of Operation Sceptre its really good. We've got two weeks of intense anti-knife crime, anti-violence, that's really good.
"This is the time for everyone to wake up and think we'll put all our excess knives in an amnesty bin. Even doing something like that helps get knives off the streets."
## "In Liam's memory please drop the knife and save your life"
As Julie and her family celebrate Liam's heavenly birthday today, she's urging young people to stop carrying knives.
"If you carry a knife, please put that knife down. Please put it in an amnesty bin, please get rid of it.
"That knife is not going to protect you.
"That knife is either going to get you hurt, get you killed, or put you in prison. It's just not worth the risk.
"Lets all put the knives down, lets use this week, and Liam's birthday and Liam's honour and Liam's memory please drop the knife and save your life."
"Everything I do is for the love of Liam. It's awful, it's so heart-breaking and birthdays and Christmas's make it even worse, it just reminds you of what you've lost.
**"We wouldn't want anyone to suffer the way we suffer."**
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