AN ENFIELD politician is calling for tougher sentences for youngsters who carry knives, after a spate of attacks in the borough.

The Government are pledged last month that any adults caught carrying a knife would get a mandatory six-month jail sentence, but Enfield North MP Nick de Bois believes this should extend to under-18s.

He said: “My constituents will very much welcome the mandatory proposals on using a knife in a threatening way, but of those cases followed up involving individuals carrying a knife or using a knife offensively, more than 40 per cent involved are people under 18.

“The legislation before us will not apply to such people. Perhaps that is something we should press for.”

The call comes after two rival gangs – carrying guns, machetes and hammers – chased each other through shops in Hertford Road on Saturday after a fight broke out in a chicken shop, before a 16-year-old boy was stabbed in the hand causing a serious injury.

Enfield Police arrested seven men aged between 15 and 25 in relation to the fight – all have been released on bail.

And 15-year-old Edmonton County School pupil Negus McClean here was knifed in the chest by a gang of youths in April after trying to stop his brother's phone being stolen.

According to Metropolitan Police statistics, although crime is generally falling, violent crime in the borough has risen steadily over the past few months, with 406 reported incidents in May.

What do you think should be done to tackle knife crime in the borough? Do you think an automatic jail sentence is the way forward?