Two days before his 13th birthday, Matt Lane watched his dad bleed to death in his front garden after he was violently attacked by a gang.

Matt watched for an agonising 45 minutes at his family home in Thames Road, Dartford, before paramedics could assist him. The 35-year-old later died in hospital.

Now 43, Matt told KentOnline: “I instantly went from being a kid playing football to having three paper rounds and worrying about bills, money and looking after my mum and sister.”

The incident has had a profound effect on Matt and 30 years later he is hoping to stop the same thing happening to others with the introduction of bleed control kits in as many public places as possible.

Each kit is equipped with crucial medical equipment and supplies specifically designed to address severe bleeding and help save lives.

The plumber said: “I got thinking about this about eight months ago when I found my dad’s post-mortem papers during a house move.

“At the same time, the news is constantly full of stabbings and knife-related deaths, including in my local area.

“I just wanted to do something to make a difference.

“My dad was stabbed many times and I’m not saying that one of these kits would have saved him, but I know the devastating impact of losing someone in this way.

“Sadly, there seem to be so many stabbings taking place these days, and ambulances can’t always attend straight away, especially if it’s not deemed safe for them to do so.

“Yet the first few minutes after a knife wound are vital – and if I can save just one life, then it’s worth it.”

Now a dad himself, Matt is hoping the introduction of these paramedic-created kits in schools, businesses and public buildings, along with online instructions on how to use them, could help save lives.

Working in the same way as the growing number of defibrillators being mounted in public places, the kits – which include tourniquets, chest seals and trauma dressings – would provide the public with easy access to life-saving equipment.

Matt has already encouraged his local pub Growler Stop Tap Room, in Spital Street, Dartford, to hold a kit and pub owner Nick Byram said he will be holding training sessions to ensure all his staff know how to use the equipment.

“We are on a main road so there is every chance it could come in handy,” he said.

“I think it’s a great idea to distribute them around high streets and public places.”

He has already fitted them into schools including Meopham Community Academy in Meopham, Temple Hill Primary Academy in Dartford and Riverview Primary School in Gravesend.

Dartford Football Club, where his son trains, and Crayford Weights and Fitness Gym in Tower Park Road, have also stocked the life-changing kit.

Linda Taylor, a member of staff at Temple Hill Primary Academy, in Saint Edmunds Road, Dartford, said the school was delighted to have one of the kits.

She said: “Schools sit in the heart of every community, and host people of all ages – taking the staff and visitors into account – and from all walks of life.

“We have comprehensive first aid kits and defibrillators at every location, and the addition of the Bleed Control Kit only seeks to enhance the medical assistance provision that we can offer.

“The emergency services do an amazing job, and having access to resources like this in the community only seeks to add greater value to the critical service that they provide.”

Mrs Taylor added: “The story behind the introduction of the kit is a sad one, but has instilled a drive in Matt to bring some good out of something so traumatic.

“As a Trust, we fully endorse the Bleed Control Kit scheme, and are proud to house the kits, although we would prefer to keep them intact and on the wall, rather than in action.”

Matt is now talking to petrol stations and football clubs to expand the distribution.

“I’ve managed 11 so far, which is 11 more than were available six months ago, so I’ve already achieved something,” he added.

Matt, who is fundraising for the kits through a crowdfunding page and then installing them in his own time after work, is hoping to place them in all major shopping centres, pubs/clubs, schools, colleges and high streets.

The locations which hold a kit have a sticker on the outside so passers-by are aware and will also be stored in a national database accessible by 999 phone operators.

The caller will be told which kit is nearest to their location for fast collection to provide vital aid by preventing blood loss.

Matt said the logistics of getting his kits out there keeps him awake at night.

“I think about who I need to speak to next and where I can place them in those missing hours when the schools I have put them in are closed,” he said.

Matt studied several different kits but in his opinion the ones provided by Mere Supplies Ltd are the best.

The bleed control kits were created by paramedics Kyle Raffo and Bradley Sadat-Shafai, from the West Midlands, as they felt the traditional first aid kits were inadequate.

They have donated 10 kits to Matt as part of a new campaign called HALT – Haemorrhage control And Life-saving Treatment – focused on equipping communities with the tools and knowledge to provide life-saving first aid, with a specific focus on rising knife crime.

Kyle, who appeared in Channel 4’s fly-on-the-wall documentary 999: On the Front Line, said: “Matt shares the same goals we do and so we are delighted to be able to support his campaign in memory of his dad in this way.

“As paramedics, we’ve watched people die in front of us because we couldn’t get there any sooner and yet for the sake of a simple piece of kit that costs probably less than a family trip to the cinema, a life could be saved.

“Every minute can be one too many in the case of a catastrophic haemorrhage, without the right type of first aid such as a tourniquet, being applied as quickly as possible.

“We have created our bleed control kits based on our years of medical experience, with each item carefully selected as the most reliable, the most effective and the easiest to use.”

He added: “We want them to be rolled out into the community, into schools, workplaces, community centres, on street corners and in people’s cars and homes, so there is always one within easy reach should someone suffer a serious injury.

“Matt is already doing great work towards that aim and really making a difference in those communities.”

If we can save one life, then we have done our job

They have also added a training element to their website which you can view here in a bid to flood the country with an “army” of trained bleed control first aiders as the kits are designed to be used by members of the public also.

Latest ONS figures revealed knife-related murders in England and Wales reached 282 between April 21 and March 22, the highest on record.

Matt said bleeding from serious injuries can prove fatal in as little as three to five minutes while the length of time for ambulances to arrive at Category 1 calls involving life-threatening bleeding is well above five minutes.

But he explained there are many ways besides stabbings for a catastrophic bleed to occur, such as a car accident or a work-related injury.

“The elderly lady next door might be cutting her shrubs and fall onto her shears,” he said. “It is not just stabbings that can cause fatal bleeding.

“If we can save one life, then we have done our job.”