Deadly "zombie" knives are being sold online to kids via popular apps as knife crime soars.
Today, we uncover a seller on TikTok and Snapchat tempting buyers as young as 13 with pizza-style door to door delivery.
Our reporter, posing as a 17-year-old, was offered four 40 inch weapons for £55.
At least two had the serrated edges of large illegal engraved knives inspired by zombie movies.
The seller bragged the blades could “cut like butter” cause “serious damage” and were “more lethal” than other knives.
When challenged later, he said: “Of course I don’t want people to die. It’s just a good way to make money.”
It came 48 hours after the Government announced plans to ban machetes and zombie knives amid calls from campaigners.
Currently, possession of either is not outlawed unless the blade features engravings that could induce violence.
The new plans mean buyers and sellers of such knives could face up to two years jail.
But four Home Secretaries have announced similar plans since 2016, when Theresa May first declared laws would be introduced.
Meanwhile, it is illegal to sell knives to anyone under 18 in the UK.
Campaigner Lynne Baird, 65, whose son Daniel, 26, was stabbed to death six years ago, said: “Your findings are shocking. It beggars belief how easy it is to get hold of a lethal blade. Social media firms cannot turn a blind eye to this.”
Our deal, with delivery to a London address, was set up on Snapchat after we saw the seller’s “advert” video on TikTok – which has 3.7million UK users as young as 13.
Snapchat, with 20 million UK users, is ideal for criminals to use as messages vanish after viewing.
We used a second handset to take images of the messages above. The seller sent our reporter a video of the knives and said: “I’d go for the second one, it is more lethal.
But they’d both do serious damage. I have a driver that will deliver anywhere u want.” He wanted payment through a cash app.
Later, he shared a photo of his own zombie knife and said he could find us a similar one, boasting: “It cuts like butter.”
He agreed to deliver the knives yesterday before we pulled out of the deal.
Campaigners say a law banning zombie-style knives should have been in place years ago after a rise in fatal stabbings.
They include Olumide Wole-Madariola, whose son Malcolm, 17, was killed by a zombie knife in South London in 2018.
His murderer, Tammuz Brown, got 16 years. Office for National Statistics figures show knife killings in England and Wales in 2021/22 were the highest for 76 years.
The largest rise involved boys aged 16 to 17, up from 10 to 24. In the year ending March 2022, there were around 45,000 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument, up 34% on a decade ago.
When we contacted the seller for comment, he said: “I sell them because I’m desperate for cash.
“You can’t really blame me though other people do it too. Of course I don’t want people to die. It’s just a good way to make money.”
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “This is a disgrace. Labour will take action to halve knife crime.”
Snapchat has disabled the seller’s account. A spokesman said: “The sale of weapons is prohibited.”
TikTok said: “We do not allow the depiction, promotion, or trade of weapons. Any content violating our guidelines will be removed.”
