When Lisa Petrie lost her 22-year-old son John McNab to an unprovoked knife attack in Leith last September, she faced an unimaginable grief. Rather than letting that grief consume her, she resolved to turn her pain into action. Determined that her son's death would not be in vain, she launched the "Not In Vain" campaign, which has already placed more than 100 emergency bleed kits in community centres, schools, pubs, and shops across the Edinburgh region and beyond.

John McNab was fatally stabbed by a teenager in a random attack on the streets of Leith in September 2023. The teenager, who cannot be named due to his age, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years last month. Lisa described John as "the heart of the family" and said he was full of life: travelling, attending festivals, and always making people laugh. "He didn't like arguments," she remembered. "He'd crack a joke rather than have an argument with you. He was my best pal."

Lisa's campaign focuses on equipping public spaces with bleed control kits — medical packs designed to treat traumatic blood loss from knife wounds, car accidents, or any severe injury. Each kit contains tourniquets, haemostatic dressings, chest seals, and instructions for use. Lisa and her team have installed these kits in places where young people gather, such as community centres and youth clubs, hoping to give bystanders the tools to save a life in the vital minutes before paramedics arrive. "These bleed kits are for traumatic bleeds — it can be a car accident, a fall, any impairment and bleed," she said. "We have them in community centres, schools, pubs, clubs, projects, organisations, places we know kids are hanging about. It's kids using knives right now."

The campaign has received widespread support. Mark Wells, chief executive of Penicuik community hub FoodFactFriends, said: "We are trying to save people's lives. When we first met Lisa, we had tears in our eyes. I would be lost if it was my son." Midlothian Council leader Kelly Parry also backed the initiative, pledging to help roll out bleed kits across schools and community organisations. "The first five minutes after a bleed incident can have a severely negative impact on what the outcome will be," she said. "It's really important that when those things happen, we have the right tools to hand. It's very reassuring."

But the bleed kits are only one piece of Lisa's broader campaign. She is also pushing for stricter regulations on how knives are displayed and sold in supermarkets and other retailers. She argues that knives should be removed from open shelves and placed in locked cabinets, similar to alcohol or high-value goods. "Computer games are in empty boxes, you don't get the game until you've purchased it. Alcohol is in locked cabinets. Why can't it be the same for knives?" she asked. Pauline Bowie from the Muirhouse-based community project Lower Income Families Together (LIFT) echoed this call, saying: "Kids of all ages are stealing knives from shop floors because their mates have them, the guy over the road who wants to fight is going to have one. That's where it starts. If they're not there and they can't get them, that's a step forward."

The Scottish Retail Consortium said retailers take knife sales seriously and many already use enhanced security measures, but added there is "little evidence" of a correlation between knife thefts from stores and knife crime. However, campaigners and families affected by knife violence argue that the current system is not enough. With knife crime remaining a persistent issue across Scotland, the call for tighter controls is gaining momentum. According to the Scottish Government, the number of knife possession offences has fallen overall in the past decade, but high-profile incidents continue to spark demands for more action.

Lisa's activism has also taken her to the highest levels of public life. This past weekend, she met King Charles III at a reception at the Scottish Parliament, where she also briefly spoke with First Minister John Swinney. She described the meeting as an honour and is now pushing for a formal meeting with Swinney to discuss her proposals for restricting knife sales. Her campaign has been endorsed by local politicians and community leaders, who see it as a vital step in preventing further tragedies. "I felt so honoured," Lisa said. "I've been doing this because I need John not to die in vain. I'm not doing this for recognition — I just don't want another family to be where I am."

The bleed kits have been placed in a wide range of locations across Midlothian and Edinburgh, including Muirhouse Millennium Centre, Penicuik's FoodFactFriends hub, local schools, and even some pubs and clubs. Each kit is securely mounted in a public area, clearly labelled and accessible in emergencies. The kits are intended to be used by anyone trained in basic first aid, and Lisa has been running awareness sessions to teach people how to use them effectively. The equipment is similar to those used by paramedics and includes items that can stop severe bleeding from an artery, such as tourniquets and haemostatic gauze. Time is critical in traumatic bleeding cases: without prompt intervention, a victim can bleed to death within a few minutes.

Beyond the immediate impact of the kits, Lisa's campaign has highlighted the wider issue of youth violence and knife culture. The fatal stabbing of John McNab was not an isolated incident. In the months since his death, there have been numerous stabbings across Scotland, including attacks on teenagers in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and other cities. Lisa said, "Since John died, at least once a week, we're hearing stories of people being stabbed, people being attacked." This persistent violence has led to calls for a public health approach to knife crime, combining prevention, education, and enforcement.

Several other organisations and families affected by knife crime have launched similar campaigns in recent years, including the Ben Kinsella Trust in London and the No Knives, Better Lives initiative in Scotland. Lisa's "Not In Vain" campaign adds to this growing network of grassroots efforts. She says she is determined to keep the momentum going and has already begun planning the next phase, which includes lobbying for mandatory bleed kit installation in all public buildings and schools. She is also working with local charities to provide mental health support for young people at risk of carrying knives.

John McNab's legacy is now being remembered not just as a tragic statistic, but as a catalyst for change. His mother's campaign has already saved lives: there have been reports of two instances where bleed kits were used to stabilise victims of serious accidents before emergency services arrived. For Lisa, each saved life is a small victory in her son's memory. She said simply, "John was the life and soul of our family, and I will do everything I can to make sure his death means something."

Source: STV News News