Devizes never really strikes me as a violent town, certainly no more than any other. But this weekend was a black one with the fatal stabbing of 29-year-old Barry Cooper and a dreadful sex attack on a 17-year-old girl.

People in the town have been genuinely appalled at what has happened, especially when you consider that it is not yet a year since Matthew Baggott died after another knife attack in broad daylight.

I will be really interested in what the police have to say to reassure people this week because these deaths have given people a real concern for public safety.

Knife crime is rife in Britain and 16 teenagers have died so far this year in London because of it. Two deaths, albeit involving older men, in the space of 12 months in Devizes is shocking when you compare the populations.

The fact that both happened in broad daylight within five minutes walk of Devzes police station is an irony that won't be lost on anyone in the town.

So far this week the police have been very unforthcoming despite their own concerns that Mr Cooper's death has escalated tensions among the people in his circle of friends and acquaintances. A policeman told me privately yesterday that there is a worry that there will be reprisals.

I'm certain the police will come out and reassure people before we go to press though.

One interesting aspect of the stabbing was that once again the air ambulance, which the Great Western Ambulance Service wants to remove, demonstrated the value of the pilot's local knowledge.

Apparently the helicopter was told to remain on standby at its base at Devizes police headquarters while medics tried to save Mr Cooper's life.

When it became apparent that this was proving more difficult than first thought the pilot took off and, because he knows the area, was able to land in playing fields near Victoria Road. A pilot travelling from Bristol would have had no such knowledge and vital minutes would have been lost.

As it turned out Mr Cooper died the next day in hospital but he would not even have had that slender chance were it not for the pilot's knowledge backing up the skills of the medics on the ground.