A father-of-two who became a tireless crusader against knife crime after Ben Kinsella’s death is taking his message to the masses with a national poster campaign that started in Caledonian Road.

Danny O’Brien, 46, was so moved by the 16-year-old Holloway School student’s tragic death in June 2008 that he has been a waging a one-man battle against knives ever since.

For his latest campaign, he has blanketed Caledonian Road with a series of hard-hitting posters.

He said: “I’m trying to achieve more awareness that carrying a knife is not cool. Not only can it kill, it damages the person carrying it.

“The idea is to get these posters across the UK, starting with Cally Road. If I can stop one person carrying a knife, it’s worth it.”

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Mr O’Brien, who once stood in a bucket of custard for eight hours to raise cash for the Ben Kinsella Trust, teamed up with a printer he met online through his Facebook group Anti-Knife UK – which has thousands of fans – to produce four posters. One depicts a hooded youth brandishing a feather, with the slogan: “Cowards carry knives”, while another reads: “It always ends in tears” above an image of a crying child.

Mr O’Brien vowed to blitz Upper Street’s shops next, before taking the designs across the country. He has also written to dozens of football clubs and says Arsenal’s community team has agreed to display the posters.

Speaking about why he is so determined, he said: “It started with Ben’s killing. I just got fed up with picking up the paper and reading about people being stabbed all the time. I wanted to stand up and say something.

“I’m dedicated to this campaign full-time and it’s like a calling. Some people think I’m stupid, but I know I’m making a difference.”