Asda move welcome but ‘more education on knives needed’

She said: “This move by Asda has to be welcomed and I would encourage other supermarket chains across the North to do likewise.

“The increased culture of carrying knives especially amongst young people needs to be seriously addressed. We also have all seen in recent times the numbers of robberies of local shops in Derry and in many cases, knives were used to threaten staff.

“We need to get the message out to our young people in Derry through education programmes to all age groups that carrying or using a knife is dangerous and totally wrong. It’s important to educate them of the foolishness of carrying weapons so that they are not criminalised at an early age due to peer pressure and youth culture. The maximum sentence for anyone found guilty of carrying an illegal knife is now four years.”