The council has partnered with a writer and actor to install bleed kits across Oxford.

Oxford City Council has teamed up with a theatre group to install the kits, which can be used to stop severe blood loss in emergency situations before paramedics arrive.

The initiative follows the council's Knife Crime Summit on Monday, September 2, where tackling knife crime and serious violence was identified as a priority.

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The council was already working with Thames Valley Police to install kits across Oxford, but the project was given a boost when writer and actor Claire Nelson got involved.

Nelson, who performed a solo show about the impact of knife crime on parents as part of the Offbeat Festival on Wednesday, September 11, wanted to raise money to install bleed kits across the city.

The council has now teamed up with Nelson to install at least five bleed kits in community locations across the city.

Nelson said: "I was inspired to write this from some lived experience.

"This has made the writing and development of the show a very personal journey for me.

"Knife crime is an issue that confronts so many families, destroys lives and changes lives forever."

Bleed kits contain medical equipment, including tourniquets and gauze, to control bleeding and stabilise an injured person until professional medical help arrives.

Similar to defibrillators, the bleed kits are stored in secure cabinets on the outside of buildings.

Emergency call handlers provide the key code access to the cabinets during an emergency incident.

There are currently no public bleed kits in Oxford.

It has not yet been decided where the bleed kits will be located, but it is likely to be in community or leisure centres.

Councillor Lubna Arshad, cabinet member for a safer Oxford, said: "I hope these bleed kits are never used, but I also know they could potentially be lifesaving.

"Oxford is a city where safety is a top priority, and we are committed to making it safer every day.

"While knife crime remains rare here, we know that even one incident is one too many.

"These bleed kits are part of a larger strategy to ensure that our communities are prepared in the rare event of an emergency.

"These projects always work best when the council, police and community work together, so we’re delighted to be working with Claire and Samuel, and really pleased that their efforts could see bleed kits installed across the city."

To donate money to install bleed kits across the city, visit the Crowdfunder page.