KNIFE crime is a blight on society and has been for a long time.

It is so bad here and in other places that Sussex Police have announced a week-long knife amnesty as part of a national programme.

We cannot comment too much on yesterday’s incident as it is a criminal case now. What we can say though, is it brought the problem sharply into focus on the day of the launch for that knife amnesty.

Any youngsters who are afraid that they may be attacked need to learn from yesterday’s events, which, hopefully, have not developed to the point that any one has lost their life.

The sad truth is that sometimes when knives are brought into the equation people do lose their lives.

We do not know exactly what happened yesterday. Sometimes people take knives out with them for show or for self-defence. Why there may have been a knife involved yesterday is not clear.

But the warning is clear. If a knife is taken out and brought into a confrontational situation, then the chances of serious injury are much worse.

Maybe it is unrealistic to expect those involved in violence these days to stick to the Queensberry Rules. But it is awful to hear of anybody getting seriously injured.

Somehow we need to retain the view that knives are a step too far. No matter how many times people use them we need to keep the consensus that they are completely unacceptable.

Are sentences serious enough for those caught in possession?

Are they serious enough for those who use knives?

If the regular use of knives is anything to go by, the answer is no.