Fixed-price retailer Poundland has announced it will stop selling kitchen knives in all of its stores by the end of October.
The retailer has come under pressure from campaigners criticising it for stocking toy blades and meat cleavers for Halloween.
Poundland said it would remove kitchen knives from all 755 of its stores by the end of next month “after thoughtful reflection about concerns raised by both communities and colleagues”.
The decision comes after knife crime has risen 16 per cent in the last year in England and Wales.
Patrick Green, chief executive of the Ben Kinsella Trust said that while plastic knives are not illegal, they could lead to children believing “carrying a knife is a normal or exciting thing to do”.
“We share their concern on knife crime. That’s why no one is doing more than Poundland,” a Poundland company spokesperson told press.
“By the end of this month we’ll be the only high street retailer to completely remove kitchen knives from all of our stores nationwide.”
“The safety of our colleagues and customers is crucial and we hope our fellow retailers will follow our lead in playing a responsible role in preventing knife-related incidents,” they added.
The decision comes after B&M received a record fine of £480,000 for repeatedly selling knives to children and teenagers.
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