Shocking moment young boy brazenly brandishes huge knife among schoolboys in Eastbourne street in broad daylight

Gemma Fountain, 38, snapped one of the group of lads, thought to be preteens, wielding the large knife in broad daylight on a residential street in Eastbourne, East Sussex, on Saturday afternoon.

Gemma watched from her window as the boy stabbed the knife into a tree trunk and ran off to a nearby play park.

Once the group of youngsters were out of sight, she went out to get it to ensure they didn’t come back and take it later.

But the mum-of-one claims when a neighbour called Sussex Police and asked them to attend, he was left on hold for 40 minutes before officers told him they wouldn’t be coming to the scene “urgently”.

The news comes after police forces nationwide have launched Operation Sceptre, a week-long campaign, in an attempt to crackdown on knife crime.

Knife crime campaigners have dubbed Britain caught in a blade epidemic with 39 people stabbed to death so far this year.

There has been a spate of fatal stabbings recently with 17 people killed in just 18 days, with many of those teenagers.

Yousef Makki, 17, was killed in a Cheshire village at the beginning of March while in a separate incident Jodie Chesney, also 17 was knifed to death in east London.

Last Thursday Ayub Hassan, 17, died in hospital after being stabbed in West Kensington.

In February, three teenagers died in just 12 days in Birmingham.

Gemma said: “I saw the group outside my house and they were close to my car so I went and checked. That’s when I noticed the knife. I quickly got my phone and took pictures.

You’d think with all the stuff going on at the minute they [the police] would be straight round, the children were still in the park

“They were young and I don’t think they were going to do anything, they were nervous when they caught someone at the window and they left and they left the knife.

“I was a bit jelly legged I must admit going out to grab it but I think it was because I was shocked. It’s a nice neighbourhood and I just didn’t expect to see that.”

After Gemma brought the knife into her home, another resident then called Sussex Police on 101 but was allegedly put on hold for 40 minutes.

When Gemma posted her photos of the blade online, they were shared more than 1,000 times in less than an hour.

Gemma said: “When my neighbour got through to the police, they told him that they wouldn’t be coming out.

“Later, they were called to a separate incident on the street and I shouted them over.

“The officers seemed shocked that no one had been round already, especially when I told them I had the knife inside.

“When they saw the size of it, they looked mortified.

“You’d think with all the stuff going on at the minute they would be straight round, the children were still in the park when we got through to the police.

“They could have spoken to them straight away.”

'NO IMMEDIATE RISK'

Sussex Police said they are now looking into the incident and the parents of the children involved have been made aware, but claimed as the weapon was no longer with the boy there was “no immediate risk”.

A spokesperson said: “The person who posted the photos on social media passed the knife to a neighbour who reported it to police by telephone, but not 999, about two hours after the incident.

“This had been preceded by an online report from another informant just over an hour after the boys had been seen.

“As the knife was in safe keeping, there was no indication that the boys were still in the area and no threats had been made, arrangements were made to collect the knife in due course.

“It was picked up by an officer later that evening who was attending an unrelated incident in the area.

“Police have now identified all of the boys in the photo and are speaking to them and their parents.”

Coppers said the knife is also now being inspected to see if it is forensically linked to any crimes.

Chief Inspector Anita Turner, district policing commander for Eastbourne, said: "Fortunately, nobody was injured, but we will not accept knives being carried on the streets of Eastbourne and this incident is being rigorously investigated.

"Knife crime is very much in the news at the moment and this comes on the eve of the launch of Operation Sceptre, which is a national week of awareness aiming to educate people on the dangers of carrying knives.

“We are determined to keep Sussex safe and anyone carrying a knife, especially as blatantly as on this occasion, can expect to be robustly dealt with."

Greater Manchester Police revealed yesterday the extent thugs were going to hide blades in bushes and walls by releasing a number of images of weapons that were being hidden in public places.

The last report from the Office of National Statistics in September 2018 showed there were 39,818 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument, a rise of 8percent on the previous 12 months.

Source: Read Full Article