THE KNIFE Angel will be coming to Newtown in the New Year.

Powys County Council (PCC) Anti-poverty champion, Cllr Joy Jones (non-aligned – Newtown East)  had a successful meeting with the Knife Angel creators at the British Ironworks Centre in Oswestry, on Thursday, November 21.

There it was agreed that the monument can come over Offa’s Dyke to Wales for the first time.

A delighted Cllr Jones said: “It will be coming here for 28 days in January.

“At the moment we’re working to a date of January 3, and we’ll be placing it near the Oriel Davies gallery.

“The Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner has agreed to fully support this and will be by holding youth and anti-violence workshops and programmes to highlight the purpose of the Knife Angel.

“This is a big opportunity for us in Newtown and Powys as a whole as we will be the first town and county in Wales to be part of the tour.”

Cllr Jones continued: “Violence does not just effect those that it’s done to but the whole family  and it’s important that we get the message across that violence needs to stop.

“It’s not just one life that’s damaged.

Cllr Jones added that she was putting together a group to help her with the operation of getting the 3.5tonnes , 27 foot high monument down the A483 from Oswestry to Newtown.

Cllr Jones added: “I’ve also had support from PCC and the leader, Cllr Rosemarie Harris as well as Cll Phyl Davies (education portfolio holder) to do this.”

Created at the British Ironwork Centre the knife angel  is a “national monument against violence and aggression” and was made from 100,000 knives collected from 43 police forces all around the country.”

Artist, Alfie Bradley, took two years to make the angel, firstly producing a structure out of steel that formed the basic shape which the knives could then be welded onto.

Each knife was blunted before welding it onto the sculpture.

The wings were then created using the blades only, creating a feather like appearance.

Part of the the Knife Angel’s work is to promote  a petition supporting a “Save a Life – Surrender you Knife” campaign that has already been signed by nearly 16,000 people.

At the moment it stands outside Chester Cathedral and will be there until the end of November,

If you would like to help Cllr Jones in her endeavour, email her on cllr.joy.jones@powys.gov.uk