But publicans gain brownie points for refusing under-age drinkers
An undercover trading standards investigation by Ealing Council has found that knives and other age-restricted goods are being sold to children as young as 14.
Using volunteer police cadets aged 14-15 and other child volunteers, to visit 13 shops across the borough, council officers found that 46% of the retailers approached sold kitchen knives to the cadets.
Three of the sales were made by large national retailers, with the remaining by small independent shops. Following the sales the council has started legal proceedings against two retailers, formally cautioned one and issued three with warning letters.
The sting operation was part of a year long programme to check if retailers would sell a range of age restricted goods including alcohol, DVDs, cigarettes, aerosol paint, fireworks and knives to children.
During the year, the cadets attempted to buy 164 age-restricted goods, resulting in 26 sales. Sales against specific under age items are as follows:
| Item | % of times retailer sold to cadets under 16 |
| Knives (age16 +) | 46% |
| DVDs (as certificate) | 46% |
| Aerosol Paint (age 16+) | 26% |
| Alcohol (off-licences) (age 18+) | 16% |
| Cigarettes (age 16+) | 10% |
| Fireworks (age 18+) | 2% |
| Alcohol (on-licences) (age 18+) | 0% (out of 17 attempts) |
Cllr Will Brooks, Ealing Council's cabinet member for environment and transport, said: �The tragic death of Kiyan Prince in North London shows how deadly knives are and how easily a promising young life can be taken away.
Knife crime is a growing problem in the UK and only last week there was a fatal stabbing in Hanwell. I'm sure that other people will be as shocked and concerned as I am to find out that knives are so readily available to young people in Ealing.
"All retailers have a clear duty not to sell knives to anyone who is, or appears to be under the age of 16 and we are instructing them to remind their staff of the law.
The council will continue to do its part to educate retailers in what they can and can't sell to children and young people, but they must also be aware that we will not hesitate to prosecute to the maximum extent those that break the law.
"However, this survey is not all bad news. Publicans in Ealing should be proud that they all refused to sell alcoholic drinks to our underage investigators.
Similarly, the message on firework safety seems to be hitting home with retailers refusing sales in nearly all cases. We now have to work to make sure the same trend continues across all age-restricted goods."
June 6, 2006
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