Knife Angel to visit Haverhill in honour of Harley Barfield

Haverhill Town Council met on Monday as community leaders discussed the £4,000 'returnable deposit' needed to bring the Knife Angel, a sculpture made up of 100,000 seized blades, to the town. 

This follows the murder of Harley Barfield, who was stabbed on January 9 last year in the west Suffolk town.

Harley, 16, was initially taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital before dying at Royal Papworth Hospital two days later.

Knife Angel sculpture, which is planned to visit Haverhill in September (Image: Newsquest)

A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons due to his age, was handed a life sentence with a minimum custodial term of 17 years at Ipswich Crown Court on December 19. 

Darryl Barfield, Harley's father, campaigned to bring the sculpture to the town to highlight the dangers of crime and prevent the same from happening again.

Harley Barfield (Image: Suffolk police)

During the Haverhill Town Council meeting on Monday, councillor Aaron Luccarini said: "I think this is a really positive thing for Haverhill, it is a very important subject especially considering what happened.

"I would like to see this sculpture come to Haverhill, especially in the town centre." 

Fellow councillor Jason Crooks said the sculpture has a good track record, with other areas hosting school trips and education surrounding it, and added: "It is a very important and worthwhile thing to have."

The majority of councillors voted in favour of underwriting the £4,000 returnable deposit.

West Suffolk MP, Matt Hancock and Darryl Barfield with the pre-hosting certificate (Image: Darryl Barfield)

Last September, Mr Barfield said: "I want to stop knife crime, stop another child from being killed.

"I want to highlight the dangers of county line drug dealing, domestic violence, mental health problems, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse. I want it all to stop."

The Knife Angel is planned to visit the town in September this year.