Almost 9,021 knives were for sale on auction sites over a three-day period last month. Research shows that many websites fail to place a limit on the age of customers buying knives.
Even more shocking was the discovery that four of the country's biggest department stores and retailers were found to be selling knives online with no age restriction.
After examining the research, Staffordshire County Council recently undertook its own investigation into the problem: they supervised the purchase of four knives by a 14 year-old including a 15-inch machete costing £1.70.
Cllr Carol Dean, Cabinet Member for Safer and Stronger Communities, says the research results are shocking and has urged parents to be aware of the accessibility of knives.
"It is becoming increasingly easy to purchase deadly weapons online at a fraction of the retail price. This happens daily and often with no regulations controlling who is purchasing them and why," she said.
The Home Office has called for a crackdown on the illegal sale of knives to under-18s and is addressing the problem through its newly launched Tackling Knives Action Programme (TKAP).
Since the launch of the TKAP, 2,500 arrests have been made for knife-related offences and over 1,600 knives have been seized.
