A hardware store owner has said he is devastated after one of his employees sold a knife to children.

Two underage girls, working for Croydon's trading standards team, bought the knife from the Warehouse hardware store in New Addington in March.

Owner Mark Carruthers pleaded guilty at Croydon magistrates, on behalf of the Warehouse, to selling the knife to the children.

The company was fined £800 and ordered to pay costs by magistrates on Wednesday (August 19).

Mr Carruthers, who has run the Central Parade store for over 12 years, said: “I'm just devastated for the company. We've worked so hard to get things right.

“What makes it more horrible for us is that the boyfriend of one of our staff members was murdered last year on a bus.

"He was stabbed multiple times while she was there with him.

"Knives are something we're really aware of.”

Until the incident, the Warehouse's history was unblemished and it was awarded the title best local trader in Croydon Business's Best of Borough awards last year and was runner up in Croydon Champions Business award.

Last week the Croydon Guardian reported Mr Carruthers had recently set up a business to help local tradesmen find jobs.

The 41-year-old said the employee who sold the knife had suffered “a complete moment of madness” and had been dismissed.

He said the store had operated a strict policy of asking for ID from anyone who tried to buy a knife and looked under-21 but that policy had not been followed.

All staff had been trained regularly and Mr Carruthers said he had stressed the importance of the issue just six weeks before the sting.

The store has now changed all its policies.

All knives will now be kept behind the counter, anyone who looks under 25 will be asked for ID, and the Warehouse will not sell knives to anyone under 21.

Mr Carruthers said: “This cannot ever happen again in my company.

"This is a potentially life-threatening issue and the only saving grace is that the knife went to trading standards and not to two kids on the streets.”

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