A HORRIFIED Cradley Heath councillor has spoken of her shock after police advised parents to search the school bags of children as young as seven for knives.

The shocking guidance comes in a letter on how to protect youngsters and includes checking their satchels before they leave for the classroom.

The letter, sent out before the summer holidays, asks parents to have a ‘honest and open conversation’ with their children about the dangers of carrying weapons.

Saying the majority of knives seized are for kitchen use, it advises: “Please make sure that your children are not taking knives out with them; a simple check of a bag before school or before they go out will prevent the contents of your knife drawer getting out on the streets.”

The news that such young children could be walking around with deadly weapons has alarmed parents.

Cradley Heath and Old Hill councillor Caroline White, who is a mother herself, said she was shocked when she saw a copy: “I received a letter from a child’s school saying asking to parents to check kids’ bags for knives. It was a junior school.

“I was horrified, I’d rather be checking my kid’s bags for toys than knives.”

Chief Constable Dave Thompson, of West Midlands Police, recently called for schools, councils and police to work together to tackle the problem.

He said: “I want school staff and parents to have heart-to-heart conversations to really ram home the message that carrying weapons is unacceptable and won’t be tolerated.”

And referring to recent tragic killings of teenagers in the region, he added: “We need to come together and make sure these awful tragedies are not in vain and to stop them from happening again.

“We all feel the heartbreak of the loss of anyone so young − and a death at the hands of a knife is all the more traumatic and senseless.

“We have to be open and talk about the evil of knives and the trail of devastation they can cause. This can’t be done by anyone alone; we need schools, parents, police and all our other partners to play a part.”

Police declined to say if weapons had been found on pupils in Sandwell schools or if there had been incidents or arrests involving young children and knives in the borough.