Police seize '˜a number of homemade whips' in Sheffield after woman injured in attack

Officers from the Fir Vale neighbourhood police team said they were aware of an '˜emerging trend' in the area and have been visiting schools to advise children on the risks.

In a statement, the team said it was taking the issue '˜seriously' and officers had '˜recovered a number of items'.

Sgt Philip Mackey said: 'We have recently become aware of an emerging trend in the local community whereby some young people are making a sort of whip-type implement.

'As soon as we became aware of this emerging issue, we proactively began visiting local schools in the area to advise of the potential risks and consequences of engaging in such behaviour.

'We understand that those young people making the whips are doing so because they believe it's a form of toy, the fact remains that those items could potentially be dangerous and cause harm to another, so we're monitoring the situation closely and speaking with young people, their families, their schools and partner agencies. 

'We are actively investigating the reported assault and this inquiry is ongoing, with efforts to identify those individuals responsible for the incident underway.

'This appears to be the only report of an individual being injured or assaulted by one of these items, many of the complaints we have received to date are around noise nuisance.'

Anyone with any information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.