Film pals’ tribute to Williams
Cut-throat hidden on a key ring
IT looks like an ordinary house key, but it’s a deadly knife and is the latest weapon of choice for gangs on our streets,
The sinister blade is being used by teenage drug dealers for protection and to settle scores.
And police have yet to seize one because they are so well disguised they do not look out of place on a keyring. A three-inch steel blade sits neatly under the key until it is flicked out, ready for use. The key knives are being sold online for less than £5 each and shipped in from the Far East.
A gang source told the Daily Star Sunday: “There’s loads of disguised weapons on the streets such as the iPhone stun guns, but these key knives are the business.
“To look at this you would not have a clue it’s a blade. There’s been lads around here searched by police who’ve taken their keys out of their pocket and not spotted it. “And they are very handy. You carry a blade like a kitchen knife or Stanley around with you and you are getting nicked.
“You have one of these and you’re not. Easy to stick one in someone too, as they can’t see it coming.
“You can do someone some harm with one of these, so a load of boys carry them. You never know when you might need a blade.” According to Government guidelines, it is illegal to import disguised knives. But the law is not stopping scores of hidden blades flooding into the UK. Tens of thousands of deadly weapons – including “death stars”, concealed swords and daggers hidden in belts – have been seized by border police over the past five years.
And figures from the UK Border Agency show everyday items like belt buckles, key rings and walking sticks are being illegally adapted to conceal knives and swords. A Home Office spokesman said: “Border Force already works closely with the police and National Crime Agency to prevent the importation of weapons into the UK. “And we have intensified checks on people, goods and vehicles entering from the near continent and elsewhere.
“Border Force officers use some of the most high-tech equipment available to keep offensive weapons off our streets and we keep this intelligenceled work under review to ensure we always use the most effective approach.” COMEDY icon Robin Williams will be immortalised in a big-screen biopic.
Movie pals Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are teaming up to honour their Hollywood hero.
All three shared Oscar glory and became firm friends while shooting the 1997 blockbuster Good Will Hunting, for which Williams won a best supporting award.
Damon and Affleck won the award for best original screenplay. Now the pair aim to reunite to produce a film about the comic legend, who stunned fans around the globe by taking his own life aged 63 in August 2014 after being diagnosed with a rare form of dementia. And they are searching for an actor to play Williams, who first made his name as a stand-up before finding huge fame with standout roles in films including Good Morning Vietnam, Mrs Doubtfire and Patch Adams.
A source close to Damon and Affleck confirmed last night: “They are hoping to find a young unknown who they can mould into the man they knew and loved.
“Robin Williams was a manic genius on screen, but a shy, troubled man off-camera.”