RESIDENTS volunteers and campaigners got together on Sunday to celebrate the first anniversary of the Drop the Knife scheme at its headquarters in The Old Needleworks.
The community open day marked a successful first year for the grassroots project, which tackles knife crime through education, self-defence training and youth engagement.
Visitors enjoyed martial arts demonstrations including Aikido and JuJitsu, a bleed kit first-aid demonstration, tombola, jumble sale and chocolate eggs for children.
Among guest was Redditch MP Chris Bloore.
He said: “It was an honour to join Pete Martin to celebrate his inspiring work over the last year.
“This initiative is making a real difference—keeping young people safe, engaged and empowered. From martial arts classes to bleed kit training, he’s building a safer and stronger Redditch community.”
As part of his continued support for the project, Mr Bloore worked closely with Pete Martin to secure a £10,000 donation from the Morrisons Foundation to help fund the initiative’s long-term future.
The funding will support expanded school outreach, mentoring and accessible self-defence programmes.
Mr Bloore added: “Thanks to the support of Store Manager Ben Smith, and the Foundation team, we’re helping sustain a programme that’s keeping young people in Redditch safe.”
Pete Martin launched Drop the Knife after witnessing the stabbing of a friend in 2011.
Since then, he has worked with over 50,000 young people through school visits, one-to-one mentoring and community training.
Today, the initiative offers regular self-defence and yoga classes, as well as wellbeing outreach for young people and families.
Visit www.redditchselfdefence.co.uk for more information.
