Six schools and community groups across Lancashire have been given the opportunity to design an anti-knife campaign, with the winning school receiving £5000 to help roll-it out.

The 'Knives Take Lives' initiative is being championed by community organisation, Reaching Empowerment and Diversity (R.E.A.D), in order to spread the word and raise awareness about knife crime.

Managing Director of R.E.A.D, Hameeda Mahmood said: "Every day I wake up and am faced with more incidents of knife crime. And it's not just in big cities either; small towns are being affected too.

"So we put forward the idea for our Knives Take Lives project to the Home Office and received some funding from them.

"We want to help schools and organisations spread the word that knife crime is not an option, and with the support of Lancashire Constabulary, between September and November we went out to each school to deliver a presentation about the initiative."

The institutions, which include Accrington Academy, SafeSpace Rossendale and Pendle, and Tauheedul Boy's High School, are being asked to create their own innovative and creative campaign that will reach a wide audience and spread the message that 'Knives Take Lives'.

Completed campaign ideas will be submitted to R.E.A.D by December 20, before the schools are invited to attend a Dragons Den style event on Friday February 1, where they will pitch their ideas to six Dragons, including Rossendale Labour Councillor, Alyson Barnes, and Neighbourhood Manager for Springhill & Central Neighbourhood (Accrington), Mohammed Abid.

The Dragons will then decide the winner and award them with £5,000 which will cover the delivery of the campaign.

Ms Mahmood added: "We are looking out for the most powerful and creative medium used to spread awareness to the largest audience possible.

"From March onwards we will be supporting the winning campaign to help roll it out and make it the success we expect in creating much needed awareness with this current issue surrounding knife crime."