800 machete attacks a month spark law call
MORE than 800 crimes were carried out with machetes every month last year, figures reveal.
Long-bladed weapons, which the Government has pledged to ban later this year, have been used in a growing number of robberies, assaults, sex attacks and also in domestic violence.
But police forces, which compiled the statistics, have called for stricter rules to be brought in immediately.
It comes after Jordan Bazuna, 19, and Jack Bolton, 18, were jailed at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday after brandishing machetes in a fight in the city centre in January.
And in the latest shocking incident, a man was stabbed on a train near Beckenham, south-east London, on Wednesday last week.
Rakeem Thomas, 19, was remanded in custody after appearing in court yesterday charged with the attempted murder.
Thomas, of Beckenham, was also charged with possession of an offensive weapon. He will appear at the Old Bailey on April 26. The victim is in hospital in a stable condition.
The latest figures from forces in England and Wales show machetes were used in 1,625 offences in the last two months of 2023, up 75 per cent on a similar survey five years ago that recorded just 928.
But the actual total will be much higher as the Met failed to provide its statistics. It said it would take too long to filter the machete offences.
The five force areas with the most incidents were West Midlands, at 428; Greater Manchester, 190; Avon and Somerset, 169; West Yorkshire, 124; and Thames Valley, with 64.
Patrick Green, chief executive of anti-knife crime charity the Ben Kinsella Trust, said: “It’s clear we urgently need tougher legislation.
“While we wait for this vital law to pass, it remains incredibly easy to purchase these knives online.”