Shops caught selling knives to children

 Knives are being sold to under-age teenagers without age checks, councils have found, as latest official figures show a 20 per cent annual rise in knife crime.

Almost a quarter of shops in some areas are breaking the law, with some retailers, including a major supermarket chain, selling blades to children as young as 13, it emerged.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said irresponsible retailers were putting lives at risk. In test purchases, an under age teenager was sold a machete, another was sold a lock knife and a 14-year-old managed to buy a nine-inch serrated knife.

In 96 out of 725 test purchases carried out by London Trading Standards and the police last year, knives and blades were sold to children as young as 13. Businesses that failed the test purchases were prosecuted or cautioned.

Simon Blackburn, from the LGA, said: “Trading standards teams across the country are uncovering some shocking abuses of the law.”