Anger as teenager buys knife on internet

Sep 8 2008

SHOCKED trading standards chiefs have warned parents to be on their guard after a teenager was able to buy cheap knives off an internet site.

Staffordshire County Council’s trading standards department organised a supervised test purchase of four knives online and discovered a 14-year-old was able to purchase them using his own debit card via an office computer.

One of the knives was a 15 inch machete and that was bought for just £1.70. The alarming result of the exercise highlights the fact that it is very easy for youngsters to buy weapons through the internet.

According to research, thousands of knives are being bought by teenagers through websites that fail to restrict the age of buyers.

Coun Carol Dean, cabinet member for safer and stronger communities said: “The results are shocking and I urge parents to be aware of the accessibility of knives.

“It is becoming increasingly easy to purchase deadly weapons online at a fraction of the retail price.

“This happens daily and often with no regulations controlling who is purchasing them and why.”

In Staffordshire, a total of 219 offences involving knives were committed last year.

This meant 13 per cent of all wounding, grievous bodily harm or robberies were committed with a knife involved – compared to the national figure of 19 per cent.