Britain’s knife menace spreads from inner cities to rural settings across the country, say police figures

BRITAIN’S knife crime epidemic has spread from inner-cities to rural towns and villages, new police figures reveal.

Nine out of ten forces have reported a dramatic rise in offences over the past decade, official statistics show.

The biggest increase outside London was in Kent, which saw the use of blades on the street rocket by a staggering 152 per cent.

It pushed the county known as the Garden of England into the top ten knife crime hot spots for the first time.

North Wales, Hertfordshire and Staffordshire were among several other leafy areas to experience the blight of the blades.

The alarming development has been blamed on the spread of “county lines” drugs gangs and cuts to police funding.

The shocking stats emerged after official police figures revealed 110 knife crimes are committed on the streets of England and Wales every day.

In the year to September, there were 39,919 offences – including 276 killings – an increase of eight per cent on the previous 12 months. But that figure excluded Greater Manchester, where more than 3,000 offences were committed.

While most of the crimes were concentrated in London and other major cities, 39 out of the 43 police forces reported an increase since 2011.

Overall, the number of offences in England and Wales rose by 31 per cent – but many forces saw reported cases double.

An average of 16 offences took place in Kent EVERY WEEK – rising from 346 in the year to March 2011 to 873 in the year to last September.

Hampshire, Norfolk, Wiltshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire all saw knife crime increase by more than 50 per cent over that period.

The new stats will increase pressure on Home Secretary Sajid Javid who has vowed to do “whatever it takes” to make Britain’s streets safe.

He has hailed The Sun on Sunday’s “Beat the Blades” campaign as a “fantastic” move towards tackling the root causes of the scourge.

But last night Labour said the government is not doing enough – and accused Mr Javid of undermining cops by failing to provide funds to get more officers on the beat.

Shadow policing minister Louise Haigh said: “This is chilling evidence that Tory cuts have put people in danger.

“With record levels of knife crime, the police simply do not have the numbers to tackle the outbreak and cuts to youth services have abandoned an entire generation of vulnerable young people.”

Separate figures show that the number of people treated for horrifying blade wounds has risen by 43 per cent in the past five years.

Health service records show 5,266 people are in line to be treated in hospital in the 12 months to March.

It compares with 4,986 people being admitted last year and just 3,676 for 2013/14.

Projected incidents from NHS Digital show the average victim will be aged in their twenties.

Forecasts based on the first six months of the 2018/19 year expect to see 1,220 hospital treatment visits in the capital.

It breaks down as 280 incidents per week in Birmingham, 140 in Liverpool, 130 in in Manchester and 120 in Leeds.

David Spencer, Research Director at the Centre for Crime Prevention, said: “These figures reveal the shocking extent of the knife crime epidemic which is blighting towns and cities up and down the country.

“The growing number of people suffering blade injuries betrays the failure of the government and police to get on top of this issue.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Through our Serious Violence Strategy we are tackling knife crime and its devastating consequences by putting greater emphasis on early intervention, alongside a tough law enforcement response.

“The Strategy is also enabling a more coordinated approach involving a range of agencies, including the police, community groups, local authorities, education and health agencies.

“Our brave police officers are essential to this effort, which is why we last month announced an increase to police funding of up to £970m including from Council Tax precept. This is the most substantial increase since 2010.”

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