Knife crime campaigner Lisa Petrie vows not to slow down after emotional award win
The mum is a tireless campaigner in her own right and took home the top award at Thursday’s celebration of community heroes
An emotional Lisa Petrie received a standing ovation from a sold-out Usher Hall crowd as she was named as the city’s Local Hero at the Forth 1 Awards.
She has become a tireless campaigner for tougher action on knife crime after her 22-year-old son John McNab was murdered by a teenager in a fatal Leith stabbing just over a year ago.
Lisa told the Evening News she was “shaken” and “overwhelmed” as her name was called out for the evening’s top award.
She said: "John gives me the strength, realistically it's him. If I can save another family then I'm going to try my upmost to do that.
“I think he would be proud but in my ear he would be like mum sit down now shut up call me embarrassing but I think he would be very proud.”
Lisa, who was “devastated” by her son’s death, has truly become a local hero with hundreds of people joining her in a candlelit march through Leith to mark the one-year anniversary of John’s murder.
“People are listening and people are helping me make change, it's not just me, there's Pauline Bowie and LIFT (Low Income Families Together) and the army of people behind me. I canae thank them enough."
First Minister John Swinney called her “inspirational” in September as he announced she had been successful in her tireless campaign to get bleed kits rolled out across Scotland.
Lisa has already assembled and distributed over 100 kits to pubs, community centres and shops across Edinburgh and Midlothian.
The potentially life-saving kits contain equipment designed to help control severe bleeding until emergency services arrive.
She said: “I'm like a worm in your ear I'm not going away until I get change so I hope he can feel that from me.
“I want to see bleed kits everywhere, I want to see knives off the shop floors and I want to see a change in the bail conditions. ”
Before her “Not in Vain” campaign gained government attention, she raised thousands to help fund her efforts, inspiring students at her former employer Fettes College to organise a two-week blood drive.
The anniversary of John’s murder was marked with the arrival of the Knife Angel, a giant sculpture made from 100,000 knives and blades seized by police across the UK.
At its closing ceremony last month, she said the statue “opened conversation that I don't think would have happened before it came”.
As part of Lisa’s efforts to continue her son’s legacy artwork created by Edinburgh residents during the statue’s visit will go on display at a special exhibition on November 4 as well as plans for a 24 hour bleed kit access box in Leith’s Kirkgate.
"Since this happened I go at 100 miles an hour and I think it's what's keeping me going.
"Don't get me wrong there's days where everyone's like no you're in your jammies today but I feel like when I do stop it hurts so I need to keep on going.
On what message she would send to the First Minister now, she said: “Please listen and work with us and we can make change together.”