Pound Island on Vivian Avenue sold a kitchen knife to two 15-year-old police cadets with no ID check. The council's prosecution ended in £10,144 of penalties.

A hardware and convenience shop in Hendon has been ordered to pay £10,144 after selling a kitchen knife to two 15-year-old police cadets without asking their age or for identification.

Barnet Council prosecuted Pound Island, on Vivian Avenue, and its store manager, Segu Razeen, after an undercover test purchase in December 2025. The council announced the outcome on Tuesday 20 October.

What the court ordered

Razeen pleaded guilty at Willesden Magistrates Court on 14 August 2026. According to the council:

  • the business was fined £6,000, ordered to pay £1,696.22 in costs to the council and a £2,000 victim surcharge, the statutory maximum;
  • Razeen was fined £320 and ordered to pay a £128 victim surcharge.

Together that comes to £10,144. The legal age to buy a knife in the UK is 18. The shop and its manager were prosecuted under Section 141A(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the offence of selling a knife or bladed article to a person under 18.

How the sale was caught

The council’s Trading Standards team ran a series of undercover test purchases across the borough with the Metropolitan Police, as part of Operation Sceptre. Police cadets were sent into shops to try to buy a knife.

The council says Barnet businesses had already been given advice by Trading Standards on storing and selling knives safely, including the age checks and record-keeping a shop needs to show it has taken reasonable care.

At the time of the sale, the council says, Pound Island had no effective age-verification controls: no Challenge 25 policy, no staff training records, no refusal log, no till prompts and no suitable signage.

A company director told the court that the shop had since brought in measures to reduce the risk of it happening again, including no longer selling smaller bladed items such as pocketknives, and certain types of lighters.

What the council said

Cllr Barry Rawlings, Leader of Barnet Council, said:

“This prosecution sends a clear message, that we will not hesitate to act swiftly and firmly against any business found to be breaking the law and compromising the safety of our residents.

“Knife crime devastates families and communities, which is why it is so important we do everything we can to stop young people getting hold of knives in the first place.

“This is another good result for our Trading Standards team and their long-running partnership with local police cadets. Our community safety partnership is committed to protecting our communities, and ensuring businesses operate within the law.”

Knife surrender bin on Bunns Lane

Last year the council put a permanent knife surrender bin on Bunns Lane, NW7, and ran a one-day mobile bin elsewhere in the borough, as part of a London-wide scheme funded by the Home Office. The bins let people get rid of knives and other bladed weapons safely and anonymously.

The council’s advice is to wrap a knife in several layers of cardboard or paper and tape it so the blade is fully covered and cannot easily be pulled out. Carrying a knife in public is an offence, but the council says taking one wrapped like this straight to a surrender bin is considered reasonable.

How to report a shop

If you are worried about how a business in Barnet is trading, email Trading Standards at trading.standards@barnet.gov.uk or use the London Trading Standards consumer crime report form.