A SPATE of stabbings that left at least five people dead last week has highlighted the growing “blade culture” which has seen a rise of more than one-third in knife crimes in just five years.

Government figures show that offences involving possession of weapons have risen by 36% since 1999, while murders with sharp instruments have gone up by a similar proportion since 1997.

The growing problem posed by knives was highlighted last week by the death of Robert Levy, a 16-year-old schoolboy, who was stabbed in a fight between gangs of pupils in Hackney, east London. Yesterday a 15-year-old boy was charged with his murder and will appear at a youth court in Enfield, north London, tomorrow.

In a separate crime, which police described as “slaughter”, a retired consultant and his wife were murdered at their home in north London.

Meanwhile, nearly 7,000 football fans observed a minute’s silence at Brighton and Hove Albion yesterday in memory of Marie Harding, a 73-year-old fan of the club who died after having her throat slashed in Southwick, East Sussex.

The knife problem has become so serious that senior police officers and MPs are calling for a tightening of the law to bring penalties for knife crime more into line with those for gun offences.

Michael Todd, chief constable of Greater Manchester, said knives were the biggest threat his officers faced. His force has become the first to compel its officers to wear stab-proof jackets over their uniforms.

“If someone is carrying a knife they will be prepared to use it,” he said. “We need to change that culture. Only by tightening the law will we get them off the streets.”

Todd wants longer jail terms for knife crime, which the government has no plans to introduce. He is also calling for the minimum age at which it is possible to buy knives to be raised from 16 to 18, a measure the Home Office is considering.

The ease with which young people can buy knives is being partly blamed for the “blade culture”, along with the growing popularity of the weapons among criminals worried at the harsh sentences imposed for carrying firearms.

The figures show that offences of possession of weapons other than guns have gone up from 23,365 in 1998-99 to 32,104 in 2002-03. Knives are by far the most common weapon in this category. Separate Home Office figures show murders with sharp instruments rose from 200 in 1997 to 272 last year.

There is also concern that crimes involving knives are no longer confined to rough inner-city areas but have spilt into more middle-class districts. Last Friday Derek Robinson, a retired paediatrician, and his wife Jean, a former music teacher, were found stabbed to death at their £850,000 house in Highgate, north London.

Detective Superintendent Sue Hill, speaking at the house, said: “This is a horrific attack. These people were in their own home and they were slaughtered.”

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