A 15-year-old boy from Barnet has been sentenced to four months detention for possession of a 12 inch knife.

The teenager – who cannot be named because of his age – was arrested by PCSOs at Highbury and Islington station on July 12 after he fitted the description of a suspect in a robbery at the station on the same day.

After he saw the officers approaching, he tried to flee by running over a footbridge, stopping to throw a black object over the fence.

Officers caught the youngster before a search uncovered the object which turned out to be a knife in a sheath.

On arrival in custody, the boy was searched and three wraps of cannabis were found.

PC Ibi Ahmed said: “Thanks to the hard work of the officers that arrived on scene this led to a successful conviction of an individual who was carrying a knife whilst using the TfL rail service.

“This will hopefully send out a clear message to anybody carrying knives out in the public domain. It is another knife off the streets and could potentially have prevented a crime from occurring,” PC Ahmed added.

The teenager pleaded guilty at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on August 3 and was sentenced to a four month detention and training order – serving half the time in custody and half in the community.

He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £30 and an order was made under Section 143 of the Powers of Criminal Courts Act 2000 which forbids him from carrying a hunting knife.