School uniforms made slash-proof

14 August 2007, 16:28 GMT 17:28 UK

E-mailthis to a friend

Printable version

School uniforms made slash-proof

Lining a blazer and jumper with Kevlar costs £130 Parents concerned about knife crime are getting "slash-proof" school uniforms for their children. A company is offering to modify blazers and jumpers by lining them with knife-resistant Kevlar. Bladerunner in Romford, east London, said it has been contacted by the parents of five local pupils about the £130 adaptation. But the government said stabbings in schools were very rare and accused the firm of scaremongering for profits. Jim Knight, Department for Children, Schools and Families minister, said: "Stabbings in schools are exceptionally rare. This is a commercial organisation scaremongering to sell its products." Kevlar is a synthetic material that can be spun into a fabric which makes it light but also very strong. Seven teenagers have so far been stabbed to death in London this year ...