A WIDOW whose husband was stabbed to death in a bargain store has found "peace" after retail giants agreed to change their policies on knife sales.

Gulsen Alkan, 39, channelled her grief into a campaign to make knife sales safer after her 61-year-old husband Justin Skrebowski was killed in Abingdon's Poundland. 

Home Secretary Theresa May announced this afternoon that the North Oxford mother's crusade - for shops to agree to store knives safely in packaging or behind counters - had been heard.

Within a month more than 52,000 people signed Mrs Alkan's online petition, and now huge chains - including Tesco, Lidl UK, Amazon UK, Wilko, Argos, Morrisons, Asda, Poundland, Sainsbury’s, John Lewis, and Waitrose - have agreed formal measures to prevent others enduring the same tragic fate.

Mrs Alkan said her art dealer husband was stabbed while buying balloons for their three-year-old twins on her birthday, December 7.

She said today: "Throughout this dreadful time I have not wanted revenge but rather the certain knowledge that no family should ever have to go through what my family has gone through.

"I cannot say that this makes me happy because I wish so very much that it had never happened and that Justin was with me and our twins now but it is the only thing that has brought me peace." 

Her petition was specifically directed at Theresa May, questioning why cigarettes should be kept out of sight in shops but not knives.

The agreement, which includes a crackdown on knife sales to under 18s, changes in the display of knives in stores, and staff training, follows talks held last week between major retailers and the Home Secretary.

It came after Mrs Alkan's meeting with Karen Bradley, minister for preventing abuse, exploitation and crime.

Nicola Blackwood, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, has guided Mrs Alkan through her campaign and helped her to lobby her cause in Westminster.

She said: "Gulsen and everyone who has signed her petition should feel proud that they have successfully persuaded the Home Office to act on this.

"The safe display and sale of knives in shops is crucial, and the message of the Home Secretary’s announcement today is that retailers have to step up to the responsibility they have in preventing knife crime."

Home Secretary Theresa May said: "Knife crime has a devastating impact on victims, families and communities, and I am determined to do all I can to prevent it. Retailers have a vital role to play in this fight and I welcome today’s commitment. Knives have no place on our streets."

Last week she banned the sale of large serrated blades called 'zombie knives'. 

Trevor Joyce, 36, of Franklyn Close in Abingdon, was charged with murdering Mr Skrebowski. 

He is due for trial at Oxford Crown Court on June 6. 

The new agreement will see retailers:

  • Apply the same age restriction policies they do to alcohol, such as think 21 or challenge 25, to ensure knives to not fall into the hands of under-18s. 
  • Ensure knives are displayed and packaged securely, taking "practical and proportionate action to restrict accessibility and avoid immediate use, reduce the possibility of injury, and prevent theft"
  • Train all staff who will deliver, sell or approve the sale of knives, with refresher courses at least once a year

To sign the petition click here.