A FRIGHTENING poll has revealed that one in five 16-year-old boys has attacked someone with a knife.
Now Crimestoppers has set up a new campaign to encourage youngsters to tell them the names of young thugs who carry knives.
A special website - www.gameover4knives.com - has been set up to get across the message that tragedies that can happen.
In 2004 in the UK more than 20 teenagers died from knife attacks.
Worrying statistics revealed in a number of polls and reports from Government and community organisations have also revealed that a quarter of 15-year-old boys said they had carried a weapon over the last year.
Crimestoppers is targeting young people aged 13 to 16.
The interactive website uses images and characters in the style of a computer game to tell the story of a young person who becomes a victim of knife crime.
It shows someone calling Crimestoppers anonymously to pass on information which is used by the police to arrest the offenders.
Former Huddersfield policeman Det Con Kevin Mosley, now of Yorkshire and Humber Crimestoppers, said: "Knives and other weapons have become a major cause of people fearing crime while out in the community.
"This is why this campaign is so simple in that it allows people from all age groups to contact Crimestoppers and pass on information about individuals who carry knives.
"Hopefully this gives out a clear message. If you carry a knife you may be the next person to be arrested.
"We do not want thugs out on the streets feeling arrogant and that they can't be touched by the law.
"Let's take that fear of crime back to those bully-boys."
The Government's proposed Violent Crime Bill will raise the age at which it is legal to buy a knife from 16 to 18.
Under the new legislation, head teachers will have the right to search pupils who they suspect are carrying knives into school.
* Call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. The information you give is anonymous, but you could still claim a cash reward without ever having to reveal your identity.
