CHILDREN as young as 12 have been caught with knives and drugs in schools in North Yorkshire.

Figures released this week by North Yorkshire Police confirmed 12 weapons had been seized from pupils at schools in the region by the force over the last three years.

The force would not confirm the schools from which the weapons - which included 11 knives and one “other weapon” - were seized, but said the figures showed a regular increase year on year - two in 2014, four in 2015 and six last year. The youngest child found in possession of a weapon was 12 years old.

Figures released under the Freedom Of Information Act also showed a total of 17 children have been found in possession of drugs by North Yorkshire Police in schools around the region between 2013 and the end of 2016.

They showed that in 2016 there were 12 seizures of cannabis and hash from students at schools in North Yorkshire, compared with just three reports of cannabis found on pupils in 2015.

In 2014 one child had legal highs taken from them by police in school, while in 2013, one pupil had cannabis seized by police at a school in the region.

Their ages were not broken down for each year, but the youngest was 12, the oldest 16, and the majority (seven), were aged 14 when police seized drugs from them on school premises.

North Yorkshire Police was among 32 forces to respond to FOI requests from The Press Association about weapons seized in schools, which showed there were 2,579 weapons found between April 2016 and April 2017.

Across England and Wales, some children as young as five were found carrying a weapon, and at least one in five incidents involved knives.

National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for knife crime, Chief Constable Alf Hitchcock, said work was ongoing in schools around the country to prevent children from carrying weapons.

He said: “Schools should be free of weapons and all children should be able to learn without fear or violence. Carrying a weapon of any kind in schools is not an issue for a school to deal with alone, police and partners will always be willing to work with them and take appropriate action.

“We have recently seen an increase in young people carrying knives and this is worrying. We are responding to this trend by targeting those who carry them illegally and working with retailers to reduce the sale of knives to underage people through nationally coordinated operations.”