A PETITION signed by hundreds of people in Enfield will be presented to Parliament this afternoon calling for tough action on teenage knife crime.

Enfield North MP Nick de Bois will officially hand the petition to the House of Commons, calling for an amendment to legislation currently going through Parliament so that under 18s that use a knife in a threatening or endangering fashion will face a mandatory six-month prison sentence.

Current Government proposals would limit the punishment to those over the age of 18, but we have joined forces with Mr de Bois with our Don't Carry, Don't Kill campaign to push for the laws to tackle the scourge of knife crime among young people in our borough.

He said: “This petition leaves the Government in no doubt that my constituents want a law that says if a 15, 16, or 17-year-old uses a knife to threaten or endanger someone they will go to jail.

“I warmly welcome the support and help of the Enfield Independent and the public with this campaign.”

Pressure is building on the Government to back our demands, days before the legislation is due to be debated on the floor of the House of Commons.

More than 40 backbench MPs are supporting the campaign, and Prime Minister David Cameron was pressured by two Labour MPs in the House of Commons on Wednesday to back the amendment.

This year alone in Enfield, two teenage boys and a young man have been stabbed to death on our streets, and we believe urgent action is needed to reverse the knife crime culture on our streets.

And Yvonne Lawson, the mother of promising teenage footballer Godwin, who was stabbed to death protecting his friend last year, has joined police chiefs in supporting our bid.

We say to Mr Cameron and Justice Secretary Ken Clarke – enough is enough. Something has to change.