A CHARITY set up in memory of a teenager who was stabbed to death has installed a ‘bleed kit’ that could save someone else’s life in Staple Hill.
Mikey’s World was founded in memory of 16-year-old Mikey Roynon (pictured), who died after being stabbed in Bath last year. Three boys, all aged 16, were jailed this year for his murder.
The charity, founded by Mikey’s mum Hayley Ryall, has teamed up with Avon & Somerset police, HeartSafe and NHS England South West as part of the Avon and Somerset Bleed Kit Partnership.
It is installing 20 bleed kits, red boxes containing dressings and tourniquets to stop bleeding when someone has suffered a traumatic wound, around the area.
One has been installed outside Bar 501 on Broad Street in Staple Hill, next to the Soundwell Road traffic lights, with others being placed across an area including Kingswood, Speedwell and Hanham.
Customers at Bar 501 made donations totalling almost £50 in a collection for Mikey’s World in July.
Hayley, who is supported by family and friends including her partner Scott and Mikey’s Dad Spike, channels her grief over Mikey’s death into the charity and into efforts to reduce knife crime.
She said: “A bleed kit wouldn’t have saved Mikey, I know that.
“But it’s not about that: it could save another family from going through hell.
“We wanted to raise awareness of the severity that a knife injury can cause and how quickly somebody can lose their life. They’ve got three minutes on an artery wound.
“I don’t think that people are aware of that. An ambulance can’t get there in three minutes.”
Avon and Somerset police are aiming to install 500 kits by the end of the year.
A map of bleed kits can be found at heartsafe.org.uk.