From the U.K.–
(timesonline.co.uk) PARENTS are kitting out their children in uniforms lined with body armour because of fears they will be attacked walking to and from school.
A company based in Essex that markets slash-proof clothes has so far sold blazers and fleeces lined with Kevlar, the material used for military and police protective vests, to about a dozen families.
Parents concerned at the increasing danger posed by street gangs to their children include Andrea Lovell from Dagenham, Essex, who has bought a £130 Kevlar-lined fleece for her son Liam McNeill, 14, as he starts term at the local Jo Richardson community school.
“With everything that’s going on in this country, I thought it would be safer for him to wear it and better for me knowing he was safe,†said Lovell. “There’s been no trouble [at the school] yet, but there’s always a first time. A lot of parents are thinking along the same lines as me.â€
Liam will wear the fleece on the 15-minute walk to and from school. Despite being only 14, Liam is 6ft 1in tall and a rugby player, but his mother is worried that even someone as imposing as him may be vulnerable, particularly after dark. (more…)
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