College students learn about knife crime impact at powerful event

Chloe Castledine addressing the crowd during Wednesday's event

Crowds of students learned about the agonising pain losing a loved one at the hands of a knife-carrier can cause.

Around 200 young people packed into the front of Nottingham College’s Basford campus for a powerful event focusing on knife crime.

Key speaker Chloe Castledine spoke to each of them about the immeasurable damage done to her family following the death of her brother.

Twenty-two-year-old Danny was on his way to a music festival in Belgium in June 2022, when he and a friend decided to stop off in Amsterdam.

He tragically never made it to the event however, after being attacked at random by a man in the street who stabbed him 44 times and left him for dead.

Danny’s killer – a Belgian national referred to as Nongo B – was jailed for 14 years, while the Castledines, then of Mansfield, were left to pick up the pieces.

The Danny C Foundation was set up by Chloe in the aftermath of her brother’s death, to create a positive legacy for Danny and educate more people about the dangers associated with knife crime.

Chloe got all this across during a powerful speech to college students at Wednesday (13 November) afternoon’s event, which was held as part of Sceptre – the national knife crime week of action.

The Castledine family shared their heartbreaking tale of loss with Nottinghamshire Police earlier this year as part of the force’s Sceptre coverage in May.

“We didn’t just lose a son and a brother, we lost ourselves as well. As a family, you’ve just always got that person missing,” Chloe said at the time.

“With us, if that one person hadn’t picked up a knife, how many people would’ve been better for it? I would be a completely different person, Danny might still be here, my mum and dad would be completely different.

“That’s what we’re trying to do by providing this education around knife crime, and if it could just save one person’s life for their community around them, that’d be enough.”

A range of other activities were organised for students to get involved in at Wednesday's event, which was organised by Nottinghamshire Police's Prevention Hub.

Information stands were also set up for people to visit, while a raffle took place to close the 'Impact' event.

Youth Outreach Coordinator Romel Davis, who organised the event for the Prevention Hub, said:

“What happened to Danny Castledine was an absolute tragedy that will have caused unspeakable pain to his loved ones.

“We’re therefore so grateful to his sister Chloe for finding the strength to share the family’s story and for agreeing to participate in the force's latest knife crime event at the college.

“Chloe’s words about how Danny's death has affected her family will have carried so much weight with the students in attendance and made each of them think about the damage carrying a knife can cause.

“Hearing such a powerful account really helps get that impact across, so that people hopefully think twice before carrying a knife and opt to make a different decision instead.

“All our speakers and contributors played a part in spreading that positive message, so I’d like to thank all of them as well as Nottingham College for once again hosting this event.”

Carl Ara, Assistant Principal of Nottingham College's Basford campus, said: 

“As a college, we recognise that growing up in Nottingham today presents unique challenges for young people, from navigating social pressures to facing real issues in their communities.

"Addressing these challenges requires a unified effort — a collaboration between the young people of Nottingham, many of whom are students at our college, and supportive organisations committed to their wellbeing and success.

“This event demonstrates the power of working together to create a positive, lasting impact. 

"We are immensely proud of our students for their engagement and determination to be part of this change, and grateful for the support of partners like Nottinghamshire Police and Romel, alongside our dedicated staff, who all share a vision for a brighter future for Nottingham’s youth.”

For more information about Sceptre, which runs throughout this week, visit: Operation Sceptre: Nottinghamshire Police

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