A company which sold knives to children for just one pound has escaped with only a light fine.

Ajit Singh, Director of One Pound Store Ltd in Southall and Acton, pleaded guilty, on behalf of his company, to two offences of selling knives to children under the age of 18.

Regulatory officers from Ealing Council’s Trading Standards’ team mounted two sting operations using closely supervised teenagers.

In the first case a member of staff sold a kitchen knife to a 14-year-old boy at the shop in South Road, Southall, last September.

Singh failed to warn his other employees to be more careful when selling knives.

In a second operation at his shop on Acton High Street in October, a shop assistant sold a knife to a 15-year-old girl.

The company was fined £150 for the first offence and £250 for the second and ordered to pay £395 court costs. The court agreed to let the company pay the fine off at a rate of £20 per week.

The maximum penalty for the offence is six months in prison, a fine of up to £5,000, or both.

Councillor Vlod Barchuk, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities, said: "I am disappointed that a company which has sold knives to children on two separate occasions has been given such a low fine."

"In a similar case earlier this year the trader had to pay £3,000. We’ve had cases where people have been fined thousands of pounds for selling counterfeit goods."

"Unduly lenient sentences like this do nothing to encourage traders to act responsibly."