PARENTS are being urged to check their children’s rooms after a knife, drugs and a knuckleduster were found on a Minehead schoolboy.

Following a tip-off from the school, Minehead PCs Sam Donati and Joe Sanderson seized the weapons and drugs from the boy, who is being interviewed by police.

PC Donati said: “Concerns were raised by the school although the items were not found there.”

He told the Free Press: “Knife crime is increasing everywhere, particularly among youngsters, and parents would be wise to be more vigilant and be more curious about what young people have got in their rooms.”

PC Donati advised parents to take positive action if weapons were found: “Feel free to hand such items in at a police station for destruction to avoid anyone getting hurt,” he said.

“When a knife is used in anger, two lives can be wasted. There is no excuse to have these kind of things. Knives like this are intended for one purpose only.”

PC Donati said that youngsters carrying knives was part of trying to show that they were tough and hard, but the consequences of carrying weapons in public could be huge.

“Wave something like this around in public and you can expect to be dealt with,” he said.

He added: “The law is due to change shortly, making possession of such ’zombie knives’ and knuckledusters anywhere, public or private, an offence.”

The latest Somerset and Avon police statistics show a 23.6 increase in knife crime with 500 cautions or sentences in the last year. Studies have also shown that children as young as ten have been found to be taking knives to school.