London knife crime: Father's brilliant 'self-defence' class video gets two million views... and he hopes it will save a life

James Morris23 August 2018
WEST END FINAL

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A father has been hailed for creating a brilliant knife attack "self-defence" class video in which he simply tells people to "run away."

The clip, created by anti-knife crime campaigner Garvin Snell, has been viewed more than two million times online and praised by police officers across London.

Mr Snell said he was “overwhelmed” at the response to the video, which features his teenage son clambering over a fence and running away after his father pulls a knife on him.

He told the Standard: “If it saves one life, then it will have been worth it.”

Mr Snell recorded the video in his back garden in Feltham, west London, and began by introducing himself and saying he would be giving a “self-defence class”.

Garvin Snell, right, with teenage son Kyian
@Garvinsnell/Twitter

He promised to teach young people how to defend themselves against attackers wielding knives before picking up a blade and pretending to come at his son, 13-year-old Kyian.

Mr Snell 'attacks' his victim with the knife
@Garvinsnell/Twitter

Kyian then simply runs away from his “attacker”, climbing over the fence and jumping.

The camera then flips back to Mr Snell, who said: “There’s no shame in running away. If someone pulls a knife on you, get the hell out of there, get as far away as possible.”

Kyian reveals the self-defence secret... when he runs away
@Garvinsnell/Twitter

The video has had 36,000 retweets on Twitter and more than two million views.

Mr Snell told the Standard: “I wanted to give advice, and the message is nice and simple.

Kyian climbs over the fence and completes his getaway
@Garvinsnell/Twitter

“If someone pulls a knife on you, the best thing to do is get away. The message is there’s no shame in running.

“Too many ‘brave’ people end up in the morgue. If you have the opportunity to get out, then get out.”

After the video went viral, Mr Snell, who stood as an independent candidate in Hounslow during May’s local council elections, said: “We were a bit overwhelmed.

“Kyian and I were sat there watching as the number of shares grew and grew. But if it saves one life, then it will have been worth it.

Knife crime in London is at the highest it’s been for six years. Youth centres are being shut left, right and centre. People are living on top of each other.

“It breeds all these postcode wars and I wanted to offer a simple message.”

At least 58 people have been stabbed to death in the capital so far this year.

It won the approval of former top cop Gerry Campbell, who called it "common sense", and Croydon's town centre police force, which said: "Don’t get involved in a knife fight, we need you alive!"

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