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T.K. Maxx "Buy a jacket, get a shank for free"


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A SCHOOLBOY brandishes a potentially lethal knife — which came attached to a JACKET on sale at chain store T.K. Maxx.Any teenager who bought one of the trendy hooded coats would be instantly “tooled up” with a 2½in blade.Astonishingly, T.K. Maxx sold the Swiss-made jackets a year after one of its shop girls, Rina Panchal, 26, was stabbed to death at work. Shopper Steve Gale, 36, alerted The Sun after spotting the garments at his local branch of the budget chain.The shocked dad of two said last night: “It’s scandalous, with all the attacks involving knives, that a big national store is selling them as part of clothing.” And Joan Holland, whose son Andrew, 16, was killed with a knife last year, said: “It’s horrendous. They’re promoting knife crime.”The Strellson jacket normally sells for £200 but was reduced to £59 at T.K. Maxx. It has a chain attached to the lining with a knife on the end. The chain leads to an inside pocket, where the blade is concealed.Steve discovered the knife while looking for a coat at T.K. Maxx in Farnborough, Hants.He said: “I pulled the chain and out came this knife. I couldn’t believe it. It was actually part of the coat. Imagine how you would feel if you bought that for your kid.“I was on my way to football and needed a coat — but if I had bought this I would have been nicked trying to get in. “I asked an assistant if it was acceptable and she said it was probably a camping coat.”Carpet cleaning specialist Steve added: “What has it come to when clothes become weapons? It’s just encouraging kids to go out with a knife.”A T.K. Maxx assistant who did not wish to be named admitted: “With all the knife attacks, it is pretty stupid to have these on the shelves.”It is illegal to market a blade in a way likely to encourage violence or to sell knives to under-18s. Hampshire Police said they would give “appropriate advice” to the store.But grieving Joan Holland said the firm deserved a fine.Joan, 44, of Farnworth, near Bolton, Greater Manchester, added: “It’s sending the wrong message. The police say, ‘Don’t carry knives’ — but T.K. Maxx sells them with a jacket.“Someone could get hurt. I hope whoever came up with that idea gets a big fine.”England and Wales had 258 knife killings in 2006/07.William Alikori, 31, hanged himself in jail after knifing Rina Panchal 11 times at her T.K. Maxx store in Thurmaston, Leics, in January last year. The firm, which has 180 UK branches, cleared knife jackets from its shelves after being contacted by the Sun.It said: “T.K. Maxx supports and enforces all laws with regard to the sale of knives. We became aware that a branded coat on sale included a pocket penknife as a promotional gift.“We removed the items swiftly from the supply chain. All store teams have been alerted to this and as a matter of urgent priority have removed all related items from shops.”
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Guest Swiftie

*Pays a visit to the local TK Maxx store*P.S - This could've fitted nicely onto the site. Who want's to start contributing? Let me via PMP.P.S - Will deffo nick this for the site later.

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A DAD told of his shock yesterday at finding a deadly SWORD inside a £7 walking stick bought from TK Maxx.Stunned Steve Pearn discovered the 20in blade when he twisted the handle of the harmless- looking decorated cane.His partner Tina had unwittingly bought the weapon from a branch of the discount clothing chain — which last week had to apologise after sparking uproar by selling jackets with KNIVES hidden inside them.Steve, 31, said: “We got the fright of our lives when the blade appeared out of the stick. It was huge and very sharp.“I don’t know if TK Maxx were aware of what they were selling but that is no excuse. There are enough knives on our streets as it is — we don’t need them hidden in high street stores too.”Tina and son Jordan, 14, picked up the 35in stick as a bargain gift in the clearance section of the family’s local store in Plymouth. They had no idea it was dangerous until they got it home and Steve, puzzled by how heavy it was, looked at it more closely.The dental technician said: “I thought it must be made of some dense wood but when I inspected it I realised the top looked like a handle you could grasp.“We were horrified when the blade slid out. My son could easily have pulled it out and hurt himself or someone nearby. He was running along the street with the stick, playing.“Any child could have bought it because there was nothing on it mentioning a blade and as far as I know it is not an offence to buy a walking stick. There could be loads of them on sale across the country. TK Maxx have a duty to check all their products are safe.” The News of the World handed the sword stick to Devon and Cornwall Police, who are probing its sale with trading standards officials. An officer at Plymouth’s Charles Cross police station looked at the blade and told us: “I’m gobsmacked. This is a lethal weapon.”Yesterday there were no similar sticks on display at the city store but other types with carved shapes and figures were for sale at £7.A spokeswoman for “surprised and concerned” TK Maxx said: “They were artisan pieces and our buyers were not aware they concealed blades. We took urgent steps to remove them yesterday.”Just days ago TK Maxx had to withdraw a £59 Swiss-made jacket with a penknife on a chain attached to an inner pocket.The spokeswoman added: “We have been surprised by events this week and want to reassure the public these incidents were by no means intentional.”Last year TK Maxx assistant Rina Panchal was stabbed to death by a cleaner at a store in Thurmaston, Leics.
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