Two boys seen carrying plastic machetes on bikes in Portsmouth as police address concerned public

The pair were seen in London Road, Fratton Road and Twyford Avenue last Wednesday (October 16), sparking a police investigation. Residents took to the Portsmouth Police Facebook page to express their concerns.

Police have identified two 14-year-old teenagers and discovered they were carrying plastic toy variants of weapons. They have been seized following discussions with the parents.

“We wanted to update you after we received four reports last Wednesday evening and spotted a number of subsequent comments on our Facebook page expressing concern about two teenage boys on bikes who appeared to have machetes,” Portsmouth Police said. “Both have been spoken to along with their parents and two plastic machetes have been seized.

“The reports expressed concern about the teenagers carrying these items in public, but there were not any other associated offences reported. We’ve also subsequently spoken to the shop where these were purchased to offer some advice.”

Police said they had to take action following the volume of reports and the nature of them. They added: “We don’t want to criminalise children and the action taken is proportionate to what was reported to us and the concerns raised by the public, which is why we wanted to update you. Obviously when we receive reports about weapons in a public place we take these reports very seriously and respond accordingly. We’re working hard to reduce violence in our city.”