THE family of a 22-year-old man stabbed to death will be using the Cowley Road Carnival to spread the message about the dangers of street violence.

Blayne Ridgway’s family have been campaigning against people carrying knives since the young dad’s death in the city.

Mr Ridgway was stabbed outside the Que Pasa bar in the city centre in the early hours of Saturday, May 8, and died hours later in hospital.

A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has denied murdering Mr Ridgway.

On Sunday, Mr Ridgway’s family will be at South Park, selling anti-knife crime T-shirts and wristbands, and handing out leaflets to warn the community about knives.

They will also be encouraging people to draw an outline of their hand on paper, writing inside it the pledge: ‘This hand will never use a knife to harm another’.

Also on sale will be CDs of a song written by friend Jordan Daniels, which was played at Mr Ridgway’s funeral.

Mr Ridgway, a former Peers School pupil who lived in the Donnington area of the city, had a two-year-old son Reko with partner Chrissie Atkins.

His sister Karis Daniels, 24, of Chillingworth Crescent, Wood Farm, said: “If we don’t try and get the message across, it is going to be like this for the future generation and I do not want that for my child.

“Something positive needs to come from something so negative.”

The family will also be working with Binit, a clothing company which campaigns against knife and gun crime.

Profits from the T-shirts, wristbands and CDs will be split between the charity knifecrimes.org and a trust fund set up for Mr Ridgway’s son.

Young carnival-goers can design their own anti-knife crime T-shirts, with the best potentially being printed and sold. Profits would go to knife and gun crime charities.

Miss Daniels, a mother-of-one, added: “If we get them involved in something artistic, it will get the message across in a different way.

“If you preach at people, it goes in one ear and out the other.”

Another family member, Jenny Daniels, 28, of Hollow Way, Cowley, said: “This stall is to raise awareness of the potential danger of carrying a knife and the fact that it ruins lives – for the victim, the perpetrator and the families.”

“We want this to stay very positive.

“From the Oxford community’s feedback, we can also gauge how people feel about this, young and old, and what our next step is, to make sure Oxford stays peaceful and a safe place to live.”

Det Insp Simon Morton said: “Thames Valley Police is giving its complete backing to the work being done by the family of Blayne Ridgway to tackle knife crime in Oxford and will try to help them on the stall.

“They have seen first-hand the impact that this crime has on people’s lives and I know from talking with them that they are passionate about ensuring no more lives are lost in this senseless way.”

eallen@oxfordmail.co.uk