A NATIONALLY acclaimed sculpture from the British Ironworks Centre will be visiting Leicester as part of its UK tour.

The famous Knife Angel, which looks to raise awareness of knife crime, will visit the East Midlands town as part of an ever increasing schedule.

Several cities and locations have stepped forward to support the Angel’s nationwide journey, and the sculpture is booked until most of the way through 2021.

These locations include Telford, Bristol and Southampton, among many others that are adding to the tour each and every day.

Joanne Jones, marketing officer at the Ironworks, said: "We recently received some very positive news from Kevan Grantham, the arts manager of Leicester Museums, who is helping to lead the project group behind getting the Knife Angel to Leicester.

"He has been in contact with various Leicester-based groups and bodies and now has the official support of Leicester Cathedral, Leicester City Council, Leicester City Football Club, and the Police and Crime Commissioner of Leicestershire Police, Lord Willy Bach.

"Kevan has also informed us that, as they are in the process of organising their educational programmes and workshops for the Knife Angel’s visit, he has also been in contact with youth engagement groups such as LCC, the Youth Parliament Group and other young people’s knife crime initiatives.

"As the Angel continues its journey across the UK, it is so humbling and positive for us to see future hosting cities pulling together such large groups of passionate and determined people to back its journey.

"The more people and bodies that can stand behind the Angel, the more of an impact the sculpture can have on the community and its youth, and the faster we can turn the tide on violent and aggressive behaviour."

The Knife Angel is now situated in Derby outside of Derby Cathedral until the end of October, before it moves on to Chester.

To find out more about the sculpture’s full touring schedule, visit www.britishironworkcentre.co.uk/index.php/show-areas/the-knife-angel-official/national-anti-violence-uk-tour