Published: Friday, 29th January, 2010 12:00pm

Tougher Sentences for South Ayrshire's Knife Carriers

by Roisin McGroarty

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ANOTHER call has been made for all knife carriers to be locked up.

This week Carrick MSP Cathy Jamieson repeated her calls for the Scottish Government to introduce a mandatory minimum sentence for knife crime.

It comes as the Scottish Government rolls out a new phase of the anti-knife crime campaign aimed to raise awareness about the dangers of carrying a weapon to youngsters.

Just recently Prestwick jeweller Gareth Steven, who was left for dead after a vicious knife attack by robbers, backed a new crackdown by Ayrshire's top cops on weapons. At the November campaign launch Gareth spoke about the lasting impact of being attacked and asked for knife carriers to be reported by phone or a new text message service.

Earlier that month a Girvan couple appeared at Ayr Sheriff Court after being caught on CCTV buying knives at supermarket before launching vicious blade attack.

Others involved in knife incidents include a 14-year-old local schoolboy who sustained serious injuries after being attacked by a classmate and the tragic death of 18-year-old Ayr mum Laura Thomson who was killed after her ex, Stuart McDonald, repeatedly stabbed her.

See the full story in this week's paper.