The owner of Oswestry’s British Ironworks who commissioned the famous ‘Knife Angel’ says he was won over by Liverpool’s desire to host the stature.

The sculpture, which is made from more than 100,000 confiscated knives from 43 police stations nationally, will be on display at the city’s Anglican Cathedral from tomorrow to January 31.

Clive Knowles, from the Ironworks, believes that while London’s Trafalgar Square was always the preferred destination for the sculpture, their reluctance to accept it has meant Liverpool will benefit.

He expects more than 40,000 people will see the the sculpture over the festive period and was full of praise for Liverpool’s understanding of what the Angel was originally commissioned for.

“We’ve been trying to get in at Trafalgar Square in London as it was originally designed for that,” said Clive.

“But the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has effectively resisted that as he felt it wasn’t a great image of the city and of the country.

“It has been finished now for two years and I was looking for another city to exhibit and display it.

“Liverpool stepped forward, as did other cities, and they had an accelerated plan to get it exhibited in time for Christmas.

“This is what sold them to us – they didn’t just want to take the Angel but they also want to create awareness and push back against the problem of knife crime.

“The organisers haven’t just taken the structure from us but they have organised the lorries and all of the logistics, but also arranged a police escort so it can be transported through the Mersey tunnel.

“They have organised with Everton FC in the Community to share the costs and for the structural engineers to make it safe at the cathedral because it will need to be made safe.

“To do all of this shows they wanted to take it and now we have signed the contract. It’s important we did sign a contract because this isn’t just a statue but it’s a memorial as well for parents who have lost children to knife crime. It’s a national monument - the ‘Angel’ over Christmas. It’s quite fitting.”

Dr Sue Jones, Dean of Liverpool, said: “Sadly, scarcely a day goes by without hearing another tragic story of knife crime. Through hosting the Knife Angel at Liverpool Cathedral we want to show solidarity with the victims.”