A retailer has been fined more than £12,000 after selling knives to a 16-year-old. Magistrates at North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard on Monday (April 20) that the sale occurred at Bargain World in High Street, Tunstall, just six months after another Bargain World branch in Smallthorne was penalised £6,000 for a similar underage sale in May 2024.
Nobody from the company, Bargain World (BBM) Ltd, was present at Monday's hearing, yet the November 2024 case was found proven in absence. Ms Round, prosecuting on behalf of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, told the court that council officers had visited the Tunstall shop in October 2024, delivering a letter regarding age restrictions on knife sales along with posters to display in store.
On November 12, a 16-year-old volunteer entered the premises, picked up a pack of three knives and proceeded to the till. The cashier failed to ask the volunteer their age or request any form of identification, magistrates were told. While the till had a prompt system in place for restricted items, it failed to flag the knife pack.
Ms Round said: "This is clearly a matter for public concern given the serious implications of knife crime, and ensuring bladed articles do not fall into the hands of people under 18." Magistrates fined the business £12,500. It was further ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £2,000 and costs of £998, while a deprivation order was also made for the knives.
In August 2023, Trading Standards officers visited the Bargain World shop in Smallthorne accompanied by three volunteers aged 14 to 15, and an axe was sold to one of the teenagers during a test purchase. Magistrates heard in May 2024 that measures had been implemented since the test purchase to prevent a recurrence.
