Girl, 9, 'robbed at knifepoint by 10-year-old boy trying to steal her games console'

13 April 2012

The alleged offences are the latest sign of Britain's knife crime epidemic (file picture)



Children as young as ten are being treated in hospital for stab wounds, a leading doctor has revealed.

As the death toll from knife attacks rose further yesterday - with two more lives lost in London - there were shocking signs that the epidemic of knife crime is now blighting younger and younger lives.

In one case, a 10-year-old boy has appeared in court accused of pulling a knife on a nine-year-old girl in the street while trying to steal her games console.

Recent figures show that staff in A&E wards across Britain have seen a sharp rise in the number of patients needing emergency treatment for stab wounds - although many victims refuse to involve the police and never show up in official statistics.

Dr Tunji Lasoye, consultant head of A&E at King's College Hospital in London, said the age range of knife crime victims arriving in emergency wards had 'dropped significantly' over the last three or four years, at the same time as overall numbers of victims had risen.

He said: 'We are now seeing children as young as ten being victims of knife injury.'

Whereas casualty wards once dealt with occasional stabbings at weekends, he said, victims are now arriving in hospital 'nearly every day of the week.'

The proportion of victims who are young girls has also risen sharply to around 10 per cent - far higher than four or five years ago.

Latest figures from hospitals reveal a huge rise in the number of patients presenting with knife wounds to almost 14,000 people year - or 38 every day.

But Dr Lasoye warned that the official figures were not telling the true story, however, as many victims insist they do not want the police involved.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: 'The trouble is that these same patients are the same ones who are likely to come in in a couple of weeks times with even more severe stab wounds.'

Unlike gunshot wounds, hospital staff do not automatically inform police of knife injuries. Dr Lasoye said new rules were needed ensuring all incidents are passed to police, even if the victim's personal details are withheld to protect patient confidentiality.

Seeking protection: There has been a surge in sales of anti-stab vests

Seeking protection: There has been a surge in sales of anti-stab vests

The primary schoolboy from east London, now aged 11, has appeared in a youth court charged with attempted robbery and possession of an offensive weapon, and is due to return to court later this month.

Relatives of the alleged victim claimed she was left 'absolutely terrified' by the assault.

The alleged offences are the latest sign of Britain's knife crime epidemic and comes on the back of a surge in sales of body armour.

Sales of anti-stab vests have increased as teachers, health workers, clergymen and frightened members of the public clamour to protect themselves.

Both the health service and the Local Government Association said they left it up to individual hospitals and councils to decide whether to issue the vests.

But an LGA spokesman insisted: 'The safety of our workers is absolutely paramount.'

A health department spokeswoman confirmed that some ambulance services had already introduced the vests.

The surge in orders follows a spate of knife crime which has claimed the lives of 18 teenagers in London alone this year.

It has also been partly attributed to the Corporate Manslaughter Act - introduced in April - under which employers can be prosecuted for failing to adequately protect staff.

Policing minister Tony McNulty admitted yesterday that carrying knives was getting into teenagers' 'collective DNA'.

Peter Warren, managing director of the Body Armour Company, said he sold 10,000 vests last year and orders had increased by half in the past six months.

His most popular item is a Home Office-approved vest, worn under clothing, which costs from £300.

He added: 'A lot of kids are going to schools with knives now. If you're a teacher and you're separating a fight, you want some protection.

'Over the last six months, it has been gathering pace and I have been getting a lot of phone calls from frightened members of the public.



In London yesterday a 14-year old boy became the latest victim of Britain's knife-crime epidemic when he died in hospital three weeks after being stabbed while playing football in Southwark.

David Idowul became the 19th teenager to be murdered in London this year alone.

A man in his early 20s was also stabbed to death yesterday outside a disused factory in Bethnal Green in London's East End. Witnesses described a noisy row between squatters who were sleeping in the run-down building.

Police Minister Tony McNulty made the shocking claim at the weekend that carrying knives had become ingrained in the 'collective DNA' of a generation of British youngsters.

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