Smash hit

“They are concerned by what is happening on the streets - the level of violence. A 13-year-old girl has been our youngest customer but most are about 15 or 16. Most of the calls have been from London.

“The 13-year-old’s mother bought the most expensive vest we have, it will stop a bullet from a 45 Magnum but it is the lightest one we have.

“We have a factory in Bolton and since Christmas we have been making really small vests that have a 28” chest and weigh 800 grams. The children have been mostly boys, but there are a few girls.”

The firm, who have sales of £31 million a year, say the light stab-proof vests will stop anything up to the force of a crossbow. A kevlar soft armour plate is put into the vests, the level of safety they provide depends on how much you spend. The cheapest version will stop any knife attack while the higher end will stop a bullet from any handgun or sub-machine gun.

Last month, at a gun crime summit at Downing Street, senior police officers from London and Manchester gave warning that the perpetrators and victims of gun crime were becoming younger.

Mike Todd, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, said: "We have got 14 and 15-year-old kids walking around in body armour. And we have 13-year-olds where, when we do house searches, we find Section 1 firearms in their houses because they are being used to hold them"

In London last month three teenagers were shot in less than a fortnight, including one who was shot in his bed by gunmen who broke into his home.

David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: “The fact parents are having to resort to spending large amounts of money on such drastic measures betrays the Government’s failure to get a grip on violent crime.

“This is a consequence of having very little police presence on our streets and in our communities to detect and deter violent crime. While our police are tied up in red tape innocent children are having to wear police equipment to protect themselves. This is a very sad reflection on society under new Labour.”

Camila Batmanghelidjh, who works with disadvantaged children at the charity Kids Company, says she can fully understand the parents' concern and warns that street violence is only going to get worse.

“I see kids of nine who are drug dealing and by ten they are carrying knives, that is not unusual. I have been doing this for eleven years and things at street level are definitely worse now.

“I don’t think vests are a solution as you can get stabbed or shot in the neck.”

Ms Batmanghelidjh, who was recently shot at in a drive-by shooting, added: “The violence is going to get worse. The Government thinks it is a policing problem but it is a social problem and the social services are at breaking point.

“A robust solution is needed or the street violence is going to have a huge impact on civil disorder.”

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