Neighbourhood officers lead rapid roll-out of life-saving bleed kits

23 December 2025

Two West Mercia Police Federation members have led a community-backed project to install life-saving bleed kits in their hometown.

PCs Mark Bennett and Sam Maher, of the Stourport Safer Neighbourhood Team, have seen 11 publicly accessible kits installed across the town in just two weeks.

Bleed kits are specialised first aid packs designed to control catastrophic bleeding. The initiative began when Mark saw a social media post about a school elsewhere in the country securing funding for similar equipment.

“I asked in the office whether we had any installed, and it became clear there were none registered in Stourport,” Mark said. “We then thought about how we could get them here.”

 

PC Mark Bennett, Lord Mayor John Thomas and PC Sam Maher

 

The officers contacted the Daniel Baird Foundation, created by Dr Lynne Baird MBE after her son Daniel was fatally stabbed in Birmingham. The charity campaigns for publicly accessible bleed kits and works closely with West Midlands Ambulance Service to provide standardised, easy-to-use kits.

Sam contacted Lynne, who immediately offered support and donated three kits to kick-start the project.

“It gained traction and before we knew it, the kits were here, deployed and in the community. It all happened quickly,” he said.

Working with Stourport Town Council and partners, including Gore Properties and Bromsgrove District Housing Trust, the officers identified existing community defibrillator locations and approached their controllers about hosting the kits.

Legacy

For the officers, who grew up in Stourport, the project has been personal.

“It’s one of the proudest things I’ve ever been part of,” Mark said. “We’ve talked about legacy, leaving something positive for the town.”

Sam emphasised that the initiative is not a response to media discussions about knife crime but a wider public-safety measure: “For the sake of £85 you can give someone the best chance to survive. Seconds really do matter.

“As police officers, we go to incidents where there are catastrophic bleeds for a range of reasons, and it's about having that kit in strategic places available to us so we can access it very quickly.”

 

PC Mark Bennett, ACC Gareth Morris and PC Sam Maher 

 

The officers are now working with colleagues to support the wider roll-out of bleed kits across the Force area.

Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Morris praised the work, saying: “This is an incredible example of passion and initiative from one of our Safer Neighbourhood Teams, and I commend PC Bennett and PC Maher on their work to get these potentially lifesaving bleed kits onto the streets of Stourport.

“This also demonstrates how collaboratively working with partner agencies, such as the town council, makes us a much stronger force and together we have now provided something to the people of Stourport that could potentially one day prevent someone from losing a life.

Equipment

“I wholeheartedly support this drive to get vital first aid equipment into our town and city centres.”

Lynne, Daniel’s mum, added: “Huge congratulations to West Mercia Police in Stourport, Worcestershire, for their outstanding work in getting bleed control kits into the local community.

“Your dedication, collaboration, and commitment to public safety will undoubtedly save lives.

“The area is safer because of your efforts, and your proactive approach sets a powerful example for others to follow.”

READ MORE stories from your area in the latest edition of the Federation magazine.