FORMER Home Secretary David Blunkett has backed the Gazette’s Lives Not Knifes campaign.

On a visit to Colchester’s SOS Bus, Mr Blunkett said it was “not cool” to carry a knife.

He said: “I’m wholly supportive of getting the message across that a knife is as dangerous as a gun and kills.

“It’s not cool to be in a position where you might be killed or you might kill.

“You only need one person carrying and it creates a tinderbox where you don’t know who is going to end up using it and who is going to end up the victim.”