A RETAILER recently sold a blade to an under age person in our area, police have revealed, as they step up efforts to crack down on the problem of knife crime. 

The sale was made during a controlled test purchase in Windsor and Maidenhead, Thames Valley Police said, with a young police cadet being sold the knife by the retailer. 

The retailer is now being investigated by Trading Standards and has been given advice from police officers. Three other retailers refused to sell knifes to the cadets and therefore passed the test-purchases. 

The test purchases come as part of anti-knife campaign, Operation Spectre. 

Thames Valley Police have found that knife crime has increased by 32 per cent since last year. As a bid to combat this, they have installed knife surrender bins in sixteen stations across the region, and placed knife arches at the entrance to popular pubs and clubs.

Some schools and colleges have also installed temporary knife arches to identify the numbers of students carrying knives onto the premises.

Forty seven knives have been surrendered to Thames Valley Police as as part of the anti-knife campaign – including a bayonet, complete with scabbard, that dated back to World War One.

Knives surrendered to the police included bread, Stanley, and carving knives, in addition to a few potato peelers and can openers.

Chief inspector Helen Roberts said: “You are four times more likely to be a victim of knife crime if you carry a knife.

“People feel a sense of being invincible when they carry a knife, and they make risky decisions as a result, putting themselves in dangerous situations.”