Southport survivor Leanne Lucas warned everyday kitchen knives can “become weapons in the wrong hands” as she ramped up calls for rounded blades and greater online safety checks.

The yoga teacher, 36, helped several children run to safety despite being stabbed five times by monster Axel Rudakubana at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July.

But Ms Lucas wants pointed kitchen knives, “which are far more dangerous and often used in violent incidents”, to be phased out.

They have been linked to more than half of knife murders, leading to warnings from campaigner Patrick Green that our kitchens are an “armoury”.

She said, ahead of a major conference on knife crime: “Pointed knives, sitting in our homes, can become weapons in the wrong hands. By making this small change, we can remove that risk and protect lives.

“Of course, this isn’t the only preventative measure we need – but it is one of many that can make a profound difference.

“Alongside improving safety measures among online retailers, it’s paramount that we safeguard ourselves by making pointed kitchen knives less available in our own homes.

“Every household has the power to take action today and help prevent a tragedy tomorrow.

“By switching to rounded kitchen knives, we can lead a consumer-driven movement that encourages manufacturers and retailers to stock safer alternatives.

“This simple choice reduces the availability of pointed-tip kitchen knives, which are far more dangerous and often used in violent incidents.

“Together, through collective action and sensible changes, we can help create safer communities for everyone.”

Ms Lucas began campaigning for the change in the wake of the attack in Merseyside in July last year that saw Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, murdered, and eight children and two adults hurt.

Actor Idris Elba has also called for knives to have their tips rounded off, declaring that people can still cut their food without the point on them.

And the campaign received fresh support on Wednesday, ahead of the summit in London.

A judge, His Honour Nic Madge, Co-Founder of the Safer Knives Group, said: “As a Circuit Judge, I tried many cases where people, often without thinking, grabbed the nearest weapon to hand—whether in a domestic argument or to take onto the street.

“My experience was that kitchen knives were the most common lethal weapon.

“Home Office statistics now confirm that, on average, two people are killed by kitchen knives every week, and that in homicides involving pointed weapons, more than half involve kitchen knives.

“It is the points of these knives that kill and cause life-threatening injuries. Knife crime is a complex issue with no single solution, but a simple change in kitchen knife design will save lives and reduce injuries.”

Knife crime campaigner Patrick Green added: “There’s a lot more to be done on tackling knife crime, but this is about squeezing the supply chains and convincing them to change what they are selling.

“Even if your knives don’t end up on the street, it will convince retailers to change what they are offering.

“Our kitchens, as it stands, are an armoury”.

Police recorded more than 51,000 knife crime offences in the year to June 2025.

Almost 200 people were stabbed to death over those 12 months.

And officers investigated 20,000 knife-enabled robberies.

While this is slightly lower than in previous years, many fear urgent action is needed after record-breaking increases.

And the Southport Inquiry has heard how easy it is for potential killers to order weapons online.

The killer systematically bought a stockpile of weapons, ordering them from online retailers, hoarding items such as machetes, knives and a sledge hammer.

Rudakubana used encrypted software and his dad’s personal details to bypass Amazon’s age verification checks when he ordered two 20cm Cerbera kitchen knives.

The Southport attacker also bought a machete with a 16.5 inch blade from a knife retailer that showed “no curiosity” over who was buying its weapons, the public inquiry heard.

Counsel to the inquiry Nicholas Moss KC said the weapon was “named and branded in a way to make it look as ferocious a weapon as possible”.

Questioning Joseph Wheeler, managing director of the Knife Warehouse, Mr Moss said a machete “with a completely black silhouette, it might be thought, is named and branded in a way to make it look as ferocious a weapon as possible, is that fair?”

Mr Wheeler replied: “Maybe so. I never thought about that at the time or I didn’t think of it in that way.”

Inquiry chairman Sir Adrian Fulford asked Mr Wheeler if he had “any curiosity at all” about who he was selling knives to, to which Mr Wheeler replied: “I suppose not, sir.”