Children join knife crime debate

Children as young as five in County Durham are being educated about the dangers of carrying knives.

Ten children, aged between five and 12, were encouraged to draw posters, with the help of their parents, to explore and try to understand the issue.

All attend an out-of-hours school club, Funky Friends, at Durham County Council's Easington Sure Start Children's Centre.

The best designed poster will be picked out in a competition next week.

Debbie Unsworth, family worker at the centre, said: "With knife crime having such a high profile at present, we decided to work with parents and children to find out their thoughts about it. "