Parents told to check on your children as Greater Manchester Police tackle surge in stabbings

Greater Manchester Police has urged parents to check on their children after a spate of stabbings.

GMP Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes today said it's about "taking the time to understand who they’re hanging round with, where they’re going on an evening".

The advice comes after five stabbings in Manchester over the last 10 days.

READ MORE:How a teenager's death at the hands of her brother rocked two communities, 75 miles apart, to the core

Kennie Carter, 16, Alan Szelugowski, 17, and 20-year-old Dylan Keelan have all been knifed to death in the last two weeks.

Last night a man was stabbed in the neck in Hulme and a gun fired. Four hours earlier a 21-year-old victim was stabbed in Walkden, Salford.

Police have ramped up patrols and have stopped and searched more than 100 people across Manchester, Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan over the weekend.

GMP Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes told the Manchester Evening News that people should not be ‘in fear’ over this increase in knife crime and urged parents and carers to speak to young people about the dangers of carrying a knife.

“This is always the key to this for me, I’ve got teenagers myself, I’m part of that community,” he said.

“It’s about speaking to your young people, your children, taking the time to understand who they’re hanging round with, where they’re going on an evening.

"Are you really happy that they’re not just out getting into trouble and causing mischief?”

ACC Sykes also explained that many of these fatal incidents can have very ‘insignificant’ beginnings on social media.

“Do you know if they’re having falling outs at school or online, is there an incident going on online, because tragically a lot of