A martial arts instructor has spoken of his shock after he and a friend found a knife fitted inside a jacket they had bought at a High Street chain.

David Arnold, who runs 26 martial arts classes a week across Maidstone, Larkfield, East Malling, Leybourne and Kings Hill under UK Quanfa Academy, said he and a friend had bought the hooded jacket from TK Maxx in Ashford on Thursday.

Mr Arnold, from Larkfield, said: “It was only when he tried it on at home and pulled the chain that he discovered it had a fixed blade on the end.

“We were shocked. The prime market for the people carrying blades is 18 to 25, which is surely the market that chain has. That is exactly the age of the people who we are trying to educate on the dangers and moral issues of carrying blades.”

The issue hit the headlines on Friday when it appeared on the front page of The Sun newspaper under the headline “TK Maxx sells jackets with knives sewn in”.

Mr Arnold said, after making the discovery yesterday, he immediately rang the company’s press office to alert them to the situation.

He added: “Carrying an edge weapon is about power. The blade is unfortunately seen as a power tool for our youngsters.

“This is exactly what I am trying to educate people against. It is about trying to get people to stop and think about it. We look at the moral issues of carrying a blade.”

A statement released today by the company said: “TK Maxx supports and enforces all laws with regard to the sale of knives. We became aware that a branded coat on sale included a pocket penknife as a promotional gift.

“We removed the items swiftly from the supply chain. All store teams have been alerted to this and as a matter of urgent priority have removed all related items from shops.”