The number of people convicted of carrying a knife in West Yorkshire has risen by 60 per cent over the past decade, Government figures reveal.

Data published by the Ministry of Justice show 514 people were found guilty of possessing a blade in 2006 - up from 321 in 1997.

A breakdown of the figures show the bigger problem is children carrying the offensive weapons. In 1997, 54 children aged ten to 17 were convicted - compared to 112 in 2006. The figures for over 18s rose from 267 to 402.

Numbers of cautions issued were not given, which prevented a full picture of the extent of illegal knife carrying.

West Yorkshire police said the trend over the past couple of years had remained stable.

A spokesman said: "Knife crime is very low in West Yorkshire and the number of people who may be injured as a result of knife crime is even lower."

Figures from the force show between April and December 31 last year there were 179 stabbing or slashing incidents out of 1,407 crimes involving knives compared to 228 out of 2,073 crimes in 2006.