Two Eltham stores were 'caught selling blades to teenagers' in a Greenwich Council sting operation.

As part of a major crackdown on knife crime, Greenwich Police Cadets visited stores in Eltham on May 15.

The youth volunteers went undercover and attempted to buy knives and razors in stores across the town.

One 16-year-old volunteer apparently bought a pack of craft knives from one store, and a pack of double edge razor blades at a self-service checkout from another, without being asked for any proof of identification.

This comes after latest figures showed the increase in knife crime across the capital, including Greenwich where the number of young people injured in knife crime is at its highest in five years.

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Borough Commander Simon Dobinson said: “Working with the Royal Borough of Greenwich to stop the sale of potentially very harmful weapons to young people is an important part of our anti-knife crime strategy.

“Removing dangerous weapons from the streets is important and so is preventing these weapons from entering the hands of young people in the first place.

“The retail sector has a duty to do all it can to ensure knives and blades don’t fall into the hands of youngsters.”

Councillor Jackie Smith, cabinet member for community safety and environment, said: “We work really hard to keep our community safe by trying to prevent these dangerous weapons falling into the hands of youngsters.

“It’s essential that retailers do their bit to make absolutely sure they do not sell knives and blades to anyone underage – it’s disappointing that two such well-known stores have fallen short this time and I hope they tighten up their procedures so this cannot happen again”