Chapel Market shop and its director handed £7,250 court bill for selling knife to teenager

The teen bought the craft knife, commonly used in knife crime incidents, at Chapel Market Building and DIY as part of a trading standards secret shopper exercise in September.

The firm and its director Tarvinder Gill pleaded guilty to selling a knife to a 15-year-old at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on Thursday last week.

The company was fined £5,000, with a £181 victim surcharge and £1,000 in costs awarded to the council. Gill received a £1,000 fine and a £100 victim surcharge.

In 2014, a 17-year-old was illegally sold a knife in a shop in Goswell Road, and used it minutes later to stab a man seven times. The shopkeeper in that case was successfully prosecuted by Islington Council, which has recently launched a No Knife Shop scheme alongside the Ben Kinsella Trust and the police.

It urges businesses not to sell knives unless it is a core part of their business.

The project comes after delivery driver Takieddine Boudhane was stabbed to death in a suspected road rage incident in Stroud Green Road on January 3.

Town hall crime chief Cllr Andy Hull said: "It's completely unacceptable for any business to sell a knife to under-18s under any circumstances.

"We're pleased magistrates treated this like the serious offence it is, fining the business accordingly. We must do everything we can to keep knives off the streets, given the terrible consequences that can arise from underage knife sales.

"Most businesses in Islington behave responsibly, but we will continue to crack down on those who break the law on underage sales, while encouraging others to take the 'No Knife Shop' pledge to limit the availability of knives in the borough."

Islington Council Trading Standards runs free courses for businesses in Islington on selling age-restricted products responsibly.

To find out more, you can contact Islington Trading Standards on 0207 527 4028 or by email at trading.standards@islington.gov.uk