Scanners will target 'hot-spot' stations in war on knives

"We are looking for this to be used in a way that doesn't delay passengers." - ROBERT SAMSON, PASSENGER FOCUS

Story in full METAL detectors will be used in railway stations across Scotland for the first time from next month in a crackdown on knife crime.

British Transport Police will operate walk-through scanners in known "hot spots". Hand-held metal detectors will also be used on people whom officers suspect may be carrying weapons. The Scotsman has learned the Ayrshire town of Largs will be the first to utilise the airport-style device when the security operation is launched in July.

It follows the February launch of Operation Shield in London, which saw scanners deployed in train and Tube stations.

Just under 10,000 people have passed through the detectors, while another 1,100 have been subject to stop-and-search. More than 100 have been arrested and 75 knives recovered.

Following the initial operation, the scanners will be deployed to other stations in Scotland. They might also be used when major events are being held, such as T in the Park.

A spokesman for British Transport Police in Scotland said Largs was chosen as it had a "particular problem" with gangs. Knife crime has reached record levels in Scotland, with the number of under-18s convicted of carrying a blade more than doubling in the past ten years.

In 2004-5, 693 youths were guilty of such charges, with 427 convicted of possessing an offensive weapon.

In April, the then transport secretary, Alistair Darling, said the trials in London had been "extremely successful", and announced that the use of scanners would be spread to the rest of the UK.

Last month, Thomas Grant, 19, a student from Gloucestershire, was stabbed to death on a train Cumbria as he travelled home from St Andrews University.

Robert Samson, of Passenger Focus, welcomed the move to introduce scanners at train stations, but added: "We are looking for this to be used in a way that doesn't delay passengers."