THE international supermarket group, Lidl, has permanently cancelled a special promotion of knives after complaints from local residents. The Bordon store, along with hundreds around the country, had planned to sell diving knives with a 14.3 cm serrated blade this week for a low price of £6.99. A shocked local resident contacted The Herald last Thursday with the news that the store based at the Forest Shopping Centre had advertised the knives in its latest brochure. "I picked up the weekly sales brochure and diving was the feature, and there was picture of this bloody great knife which I thought was an outrage with all that has happened in regard to stabbings and the knife amnesty," said Natasha Sime. She continued: "I spoke to the store manager about it who seemed very amicable but was a little blasé about the situation and failed to see the harm, which I thought was pretty naive. Although youngsters are not allowed to buy knives, I was worried about shoplifting and whether there would be any extra security." But a spokesman for the firm confirmed this week that the knives had been withdrawn over concerns the sale would clash with the knife amnesty and following complaints from customers. The promotion was dropped after the government launched a nationwide knives amnesty, which it is hoped will reduce knife crime. "Following the knife amnesty, Lidl has permanently withdrawn the sale of its diving and sailing knives. We are sending the stock back to our European supplier," the spokesman explained. It follows a series of stabbings in recent weeks, including the murder of a man in Bristol and a man who is fighting for his life in Nottingham after he tried to protect a woman from the attacker. And these incidents come hard on the heels of the stabbing of two schoolboys. Town mayor Don Mayes said that he could see that there was a case for using knives for fishing and scuba diving, but he also feared that they could easily fall into the wrong hands. "Lidl used to sell fishermen's knives and I used to do a lot of fishing myself and I had one. But that is all it was for. And I suspect this diving knife would have the same activity within the sport. Obviously they can get into the hands of children. He continued: "I do know that the staff at Lidl are very quick to check people as they are going through to ensure that nothing is being stashed away in the boxes or trollies. I think they strictly watch what is happening, but I do think in light of what has happened recently, it was a sensible idea to withdraw the items. " People may see it as a way to protect themselves, but I don't think that is the right attitude at all," he said. Sergeant Peter Miller explained that Lidl was within its rights to advertise and sell knives, as long as they were advertised for diving. He said: "A knife cannot be sold to anyone under 21 years of age and can't be purported to be used for combat or killing. For instance, a fish knife or a machete to cut vegetation is OK." Sgt Miller said: "What the store does is up to them. I have not spoken to the manager , but it would appear that withdrawing the knives is a sensible thing to do in light of the knife amnesty." • Should all shops review what they have on sale? Contact The Bordon Herald on 01420 473409 with your views.
