Slash-proof 'hoodies' criticised

Lorraine Fraser said the tops gave people 'the wrong ideas'

A mother whose son was stabbed to death in Leeds has hit out at the sale of slash and stab-proof "hoodies" at the city's Kirkgate Market.

The £75 hooded tops are lined with a layer of Kevlar, a man-made material used to make plates in body armour.

Combat Zone stall owner Stef Proietti said the tops would help protect wearers from slashings.

But Lorraine Fraser, whose son Tyrone Clark was killed in 2004, said the hoodies put more people at risk.

Ms Fraser, who works with campaign group Mothers Against Violence, said the tops were giving young people "the wrong ideas".

She said: "This situation has got out of hand and something really needs to be done.

"I don't want to put my seven-year-old in a slash-proof jumper to go to school."

But Mr Proietti, who himself has been a victim of a knife attack, said the hooded tops were designed to protect people from violence.

He said: "It has happened to me, and unfortunately it is going to happen to a lot more people.

"Until we can educate people not to carry knives, then unfortunately that is the way things are going to be."