Children 'as young as 10' carrying weapons

Children as young as 10 are leaving their homes carrying weapons, a documentary has revealed.

The film, Postcodes, is based on gang rivalries in Bristol – including the historical tensions between Hartcliffe and Knowle West in the south of the city, known as BS13 and BS4.

Boxing coach and campaigner Serena Wiebe, who lost a close friend to a stabbing in Bristol, is told by a young person in the film that they would prefer to lie about where they were from in their rival postcode area because "it's either that or get stabbed".

The documentary, created by journalist Neil Maggs, has been screened at a number of small venues in the city including Easton Community Centre and The Watershed.

The documentary explores the ways that some young people deal with losing a friend to knife crime, as well as the danger that comes with carrying a weapon.

One participant told Wiebe: "I've heard people as young as 10 have left the house carrying a weapon.

"Nine times out of 10 it's always, 'My older sibling, my older cousin does it [carries a weapon] so why can't I'?"

Wiebe said creating the documentary was difficult for her, but it was important to make it "because not a lot of young people have their voices heard".

"It was sad seeing the young people going down the path that I went down when I was grieving," she said.

She previously said her boxing gym "changed and saved" her life thanks to its consistent support.

Wiebe has lost three people to knife crime, including her childhood friend Eddie Kinuthia, 19.

Kinuthia was stabbed in 2023 in St Paul's, Bristol.

Wiebe has met friends of Mason Rist and Max Dixon, who were brutally stabbed with machetes and killed in a case of mistaken identity, close to Mason's front door.

Kinuthia had also died just yards away from his family home.

Speaking about her grief, Wiebe said: "Instead of dwelling on the fact that I've lost my friend, I wanted to carry on his legacy."

In 2025, Wiebe met King Charles, Sir Keir Starmer and actor Idris Elba at the first Youth Opportunity Summit at St James's Palace, in her capacity as a knife crime campaigner.

Filmmaker Maggs said that even though Postcodes focuses on south Bristol, issues around knife crime happen "universally, all over the UK".

"This isn't just an inner-city urban thing now. There have always been 'tribes' but this specific thing of naming themselves after the number of their postcode is relatively new," he said.

Maggs added he hopes to show his documentary in schools to continue tackling the "invisible barriers" that are impacting the city's streets.

Avon and Somerset Police told the BBC that between January and March 2026 officers seized:

• Six knives or sharp objects from under-18s in Bristol.
• 23 knives or sharp objects from under-18s in the wider Avon and Somerset force area.
• 16 knives or sharp objects from 18 to 24-year-olds in Bristol.
• 54 knives or sharp objects from 18 to 24-year-olds in Avon and Somerset.

During the documentary, Wiebe visited Hartcliffe and Knowle West in Bristol for the first time.

She said she was concerned that black people were not welcome in the two areas, but said "that opinion has completely changed – I don't know why I even thought that".

Postcodes was funded and supported by Hartcliffe and Withywood Community Partnership, the Knowle West Health Park charity, and Knowle West Alliance, which unites local groups.

Heather Williams, chief executive officer of Knowle West Health Park, said it was really important for different generations to have conversations about knives.

She said "police and other authorities need to listen to our communities" to tackle knife crime.

Responding to the documentary, south Bristol Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Terry Murphy, of Avon and Somerset Police, said its investigations showed that serious youth violence was rarely driven by postcode identity alone.

"Individual circumstances, social pressures and group dynamics may contribute to young people making the decision to carry a knife – even if they don't intend to use it as a weapon," he said.

Wiebe now hopes that the conversations in Postcodes will be continued, breaking down tensions between rival gangs.

She said: "If more people could come together like this [in the documentary] then hopefully there would not be so many barriers between the different areas."

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