Pupils sent to school in body armour

Teenagers are being sent to school wearing body armour as street violence escalates.

A firm that supplies stab-proof and bullet-proof vests to government agencies around the world has sold 60 jackets, costing £300-£425, to parents.

VestGuard UK said that it had received more than 100 inquiries from parents over the past few weeks. It used to get one or two such calls a year.

Shaun Ward, sales director of VestGuard UK, said: “We sell body armour to the Ministry of Defence, police, Foreign Office, embassy protection teams and specialised police units around the world, but in the past several weeks parents have started getting in touch.