Home Style ordered to pay £1,015 in fines and costs after selling snap-off knife to underage volunteers.
Mohammed Anjun, who owns Home Style in Cherry Orchard Road in Croydon, was prosecuted after he sold a 12-piece snap-off knife to two 15-year old boys who were working with the council's trading standard's officers.

Mr Anjun pleaded guilty to the underage knife sale, which took place on November 8 last year, at a hearing at Croydon Magistrates' Court on Friday, October 23, where he was ordered to pay more than £1,000 in fines and costs.

Croydon Council has been criticised by local retailers over its handling of sting operations and test purchases in the borough. Questions have also been raised over the appearance of the volunteers and the use of teenagers who look deceptively older than they are.

The latest case is the council's 18th successful prosecution for underage knife sales as part of its anti-knife crime operation, Safe for All. Between April 2008 and March 2009, the council reported that it carried out 78 test purchases across the borough, of which 20 of the stores visited sold knives to volunteers under the age of 18.

It is in fact the second time Mr Anjun has been prosecuted for selling knives to an underage volunteer. Following an operation by Southwark Council in September, he was ordered to pay a massive £10,000 in fines and legal costs for selling a set of steak knives to an underage boy in his store in Southwark.

Retailers are warned to be extra vigilant in the run up to Christmas, with kitchenware and tools being purchased as gifts. For more information visit www.noidnosale.com. The Cookshop and Housewares Association (CHA) has also launched a knife sales information support pack in partnership with the Home Office. Further information and an application form are available at the British Hardware Federation's (BHF) website www.bhfgroup.co.uk