NEW legislation has come into effect that will restrict access to dangerous weapons in Dorset.

Dorset Police have welcomed changes to the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 which mean that it will be harder for young people to buy weapons, both at the point of sale and delivery.

Retailers and couriers will now be legally obliged to do more to ensure that knives, corrosives and other offensive weapons are not sold or delivered to those under the age of 18.

Changes made in July 2021 included a ban on possession of certain dangerous items in private including zombie knives, shuriken or death stars and knuckledusters.

Chief Superintendent Mark Callaghan said: "We welcome these new measures that will go some way to taking weapons off the streets and make it more difficult for people to get hold of knives and other dangerous items in the first place."

In 2021 the number of crimes involving knives reported to Dorset Police fell by one per cent from 298 in 2020 to 295. A total of 36 per cent of these victims, 107 individuals, were aged under 25.

The maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife is four years in prison and an unlimited fine, and those convicted of carrying a knife more than once will be handed a prison sentence.

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick said: "As a parent and grandparent, the thought that a child could, with a few clicks of a computer, buy a hunting knife online and have it delivered to their door was quite frankly, frightening.

"All too often we have seen the devastation caused by knife crime, a life tragically taken, a family destroyed, a community damaged and that is why this legislation is so important if it helps prevent one loss of life then it has served its purpose."