THE family of Daniel Fox spoke to hundreds of shoppers on Saturday in Church Square Shopping Centre as they launched their petition which calls for tougher penalties for those found carrying knives.

Daniel’s mum, Linda Ashton, aunt Dawn Jones and cousin Chris Jones joined a host of volunteers to spread awareness of knife crime.

They gathered hundreds of signatures from shoppers and families in the centre – and plan to bolster the campaign by launching an online petition in the new year.

Daniel’s aunt Dawn Jones said: “It was amazing that so many people came up to us saying they have fond memories of Daniel and that this is so needed in St Helens.

“We have been very focused on knife crime prevention and want to make sure no one goes through what we have.

“This petition, which we will put forward to parliament with MP Marie Rimmer’s help, hopefully will change the law and make it clear no one should be carrying knives.

“We want it to become clear, none of this ‘it’s for self defence or protection’ because it would carry a penalty which is taken seriously.

“No one thinks they can walk around with a gun and they should think the same about knives.

“If this had been in place before then the person who killed Daniel would not have been able to take a knife out and Daniel might have still been here. We can’t thank everyone enough for their support.”

Daniel Fox, 29, died on September 2, 2016 after he was stabbed near North John and Westfield Street. The man who stabbed him walked free from court after a jury could not make a decision following a retrial.

Currently, the maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife is four years in prison and an unlimited fine. However Daniel’s family say very few people receive the maximum penalty – especially youths.