A POLICE chief has criticised the parents of two teenage boys who had a knife fight on the streets of Barrow.

South Cumbria Youth Court heard the teenagers had been drinking alcohol in a bedroom on the night of July 13 when a row erupted between the pair.

The argument between the boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, moved downstairs where both armed themselves with knives.

They went outside onto a street in Ormsgill where they hurled threats and attempted to stab one another.

A passer-by tried to intervene and pleaded with the boys to drop the knives before they both fled the scene.

Appearing in court on Friday the 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to possessing a knife in a public place. He was given a 12-week curfew between the hours of 8pm and 7am and must complete a youth rehabilitation order.

Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner Peter McCall said:“We live in a world where people default to thinking the police can fix everything but this is a case where young kids are left unsupervised.

“While the police have to deal with the aftermath we need to prevent these things from happening in the first place and that is the role of a parent.

“Sadly too many parents, for all sorts of reasons, are just not giving their kids the right guidance and the right upbringing.

“There does come a point with youngsters like this where if they aren’t sorted out at an early stage they will probably end up going on to more serious crime and finding themselves locked up."