Supermarket giant Morrisons has banned the sale of knives from several of its inner-city stores after kids were caught shoplifting the weapons before school.
It's come about after the manager of a Morrisons superstore in Peckham, South London, decided to completely remove knives from shelves after noticing youngsters had been swiping them.
Several other UK supermarkets have followed in suit in a bid to crack down on the rising levels of knife crime.
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Though the idea was originally started by the Peckham store's former manager, James Gore, even after his move to a shop in Yorkshire, the anti-knife policy remains strong.
He said: "We had a full range of knives out but often found they were getting stolen, especially by school kids first thing in the morning as soon as we opened.
"We no longer see the sort of single typical teenage boys in the morning up and down our home and leisure aisle because what they are after can't be found in our store anymore.
"Hopefully if it stops one child taking a knife to school then I think it's a positive thing."
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Morrisons has also banned the sale of knives in a handful of other stores after working with the local police and communities.
This all follows the sad news of a young father being stabbed to death just yards away from the Peckham Morrisons store in April 2017.
Parrish Ofoeme, 24, of Burrage Road, Greenwich, was jailed for life after murdering 25-year-old dad-of-three Bilal Kargbo during a 'trivial argument' outside a mobile phone shop in Rye Lane.
A man in his late 40s was also left fighting for his life after being stabbed in the same street on July 14 this year.
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Two men were also found with stab injuries after police were called to Belfort Road in Peckham on August 12.
The brother of 23-year-old Joshua Boadu, who died after being stabbed in broad daylight in South London, has spoken about the sale of knives in supermarkets.
Jeffrey Boadusaid the sale of knives should be banned in stores near schools and knife crime 'hot spots'.
The 29-year-old father, who teaches at a school in south London, said: "I think it would help if they banned the sale of knives in areas that are hot spots and where there are schools.
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"There are five schools in the area around that Morrisons supermarket.
"I've heard children talking about carrying knives in other schools, mainly around Peckham - it's a bit more prominent in that area.
"I feel the Government needs to do a lot more in terms of the punishment you get for carrying a knife; if kids know they are going to go to prison for having a knife it will make kids that maybe aren't all bad think twice."
After a Home Office report revealed the West Midlands as having one of the biggest increases in knife crime of any part of the country, discount chain Poundland removed kitchen knives from shelves of the 59 stores in that area.
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This followed the action to remove knives from shelves in London stores earlier this year.
The company has committed itself to be the first high street retailer to completely stop the sale of kitchen knives in all of its stores across the UK and the Republic of Ireland by Autumn this year.
Poundland retail director Austin Cooke said he hoped fellow retailers would follow the company's lead.
He said: "The decision to stop selling kitchen knives not only in the West Midlands, but nationwide, is a commitment that we know means a lot to both our colleagues and our customers.
"For a long time they've expressed their concern around the associated risk of having knives available and the unfortunate truth is that in the wrong hands, knives can be used for the wrong purpose.
"The safety of our colleagues and customers is crucial and we hope our fellow retailers will follow our lead."
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: News, Knife Crime, London