By Kelly Eve

Last updated 12:20, Monday, 11 August 2008

Retailers in Cumbria are continuing to sell knives to children despite recent changes in the law.

Illegal: Knives may no longer be sold to under 18s – but a 14-year-old girl bought this one in Ambleside

Trading Standards, using underage test shoppers, recently caught shops in Penrith and Ambleside selling knives to children.

Four retailers have been warned about their actions.

Trading Standards will be hitting the streets again over the next few months to do more spot checks. A second violation will result in prosecution.

Working as test buyers, a 15-year-old boy managed to buy a knife three out of the 10 times he attempted to make a purchase in Penrith. And a 14-year-old girl was able to buy a 21cm cook’s knife on her first attempt in Ambleside.

It is now illegal to sell a knife to anyone under the age of 18. The offence carries a maximum prison sentence of six months.

Phil Ashcroft, head of Cumbria Trading Standards, said:

"Our test purchasers clearly looked under 18 – we're not trying to hoodwink retailers, we're trying to make sure they follow the law.

“The legal age for buying a knife was raised from 16 to 18 last year and it’s important that retailers understand the implications of breaking the law.

“Fortunately knife crime is relatively low in Cumbria, but we need to ensure that this remains the case and we will be continuing our vigilance on this issue throughout the county in the coming months.”

Cumbria Constabulary’s Assistant Chief Constable, Graham Sunderland, said: “We have one of the lowest number of incidents involving knives or blades in the country and, thankfully, we do not experience gang-related violence.

“We are not complacent, however, and we are working with partner agencies on initiatives like this to discourage the use of knives to ensure that Cumbria remains a safe place to live and visit.”

Home Office figures released last month showed knife crime in Cumbria is well below national averages.

Cumbria is the sixth lowest constabulary area in England and Wales in terms of the number of knife-related incidents.

A total of 73 serious offences involving a knife were recorded in Cumbria last year and only the City of London, Dorset, North Yorkshire, Norfolk and Lincolshire recorded fewer incidents.

The highest number nationally was in the Metropolitan police area with 7,409 incidents. The highest number in the north west was Greater Manchester with 2,294.

KEve@cngroup.co.uk