Zombie knives are still being sold online and delivered to the UK despite being banned, an investigation has revealed.
The knives, often more than eight inches long and featuring serrated edges, spikes, or multiple sharp points, gained notoriety after being used by gangs competing to wield increasingly dangerous weapons.
Originally marketed to collectors and survivalists as tools for a hypothetical “zombie apocalypse,” the blades surged in popularity following the success of TV shows like The Walking Dead.
Despite efforts to outlaw the knives, their role in street violence continues to grow, as gang culture fuels demand for increasingly intimidating weapons.
A ban on owning zombie knives and machetes came into force on September 24, following a four-week amnesty. However, a BBC investigation has revealed that some websites are still selling the weapons to UK buyers.
The broadcaster purchased two serrated machetes, each 18 inches long, from one site for £19.99 each. Another retailer appeared to ship a “Defender Xtreme Hunting Combat Knife” with a 10-inch blade from the US for £34.99. A wholesaler sold a 20-inch “Fantasy Master Skull Crusher” sword for £60.
The ban followed growing concern over the use of these weapons in violent crime. Just two days before the new law took effect, 15-year-old Daejaun Campbell was fatally stabbed in the thigh with a zombie knife. His final words, “I’m 15, don’t let me die,” have become a chilling reminder of the devastation these weapons can cause.
Data obtained by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act showed that in 2023 machetes, swords or zombie knives were mentioned in more than 14,000 crimes- nearly doubling in five years.
In 2019, there were 7,159 offences recorded as involving the large blades, which rose to 14,195 in 2023.
Dr Olumide Wole-Madariola said he was “scared” when shown pictures of the purchased blades similar to the £19.99 serrated zombie knife that killed his son Malcolm in 2019.
“That was the cost of the life of my son,” the knife campaigner told the BBC. It scares me when I see this. It scares me because lives are being lost daily.
“The government needs to do more. Each time a knife is used on someone, lives are shattered forever, homes are destroyed forever, futures are destroyed forever.”
Social media bosses could face £10,000 fines if they fail to prevent illegal knives from being advertised on their platforms, under new government proposals.
The Home Office said the measures aim to make senior executives “personally liable” for tackling the “unacceptable use of social media and online marketplaces to market illegal weapons and glorify violence.”
Under the plans, police would be empowered to issue notices to senior figures at online firms, requiring them to remove specific adverts or content within two days. Failure to comply could result in hefty fines, part of a wider effort to crack down on the online promotion of dangerous weapons.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said perpetrators “must face the full force of the law” as she announced the “tough new sanctions”, adding: “The epidemic of knife crime that has grown over the last decade is devastating families and communities right across the country.
“That’s why this Government has set out an unprecedented mission to halve knife crime over the next decade and today we’re taking determined action to get lethal blades off Britain’s streets.”
