Horror as knife, sharps and cigarette ends found in shipment of unsafe punch bags seized in South Tyneside

In July 2020, Trading Standards received a call from UK Border Force after they intercepted 176 boxing punch bags at the Port of Tyne.

After putting a sample of six bags through an x-ray scanner, sharp objects were detected, prompting a Trading Standards investigation.

The full consignment, which was seized, was imported from Pakistan by a local importer/supplier of sports equipment.

Over three days, the contents of the six punch bags identified by Border Force were emptied by Trading Standards officers, who found mainly garment factory offcuts, some factory floor sweepings and several ‘sharps.’

The objects, scattered amongst the clothing scraps, included thread snippers, a rusty nail, needles potentially from sewing machines, pins and a knife.

Following the discovery, it could not be ruled out whether the remaining 170 punch bags contained injurious objects – so they were classed as “dangerous.”

A report on the investigation was presented to South Tyneside Council’s Licensing and Regulatory Committee on Friday, February 12.

Judith Shewan, of the South Tyneside Trading Standards Service, told councillors it was a “particularly unusual case.”

“The company was interviewed and were appalled at what had been found,” she said.

“We were advised this was a one-off order due to a high demand for leisure equipment during the first lockdown.

“The company had a long-standing 30-year relationship with a supplier in India to which visits had been made to inspect the factory’s manufacturing and inspection procedures.

“The company agreed to sign over all 176 punch bags for destruction and there was no previous history of problems of incidents with the company, so the matter was dealt with by way of a full advisory letter on compliance with the legislation.”

Councillor Joe Amar said he was “horrified” by the report and asked if there had been similar complaints.

“This is just one company, I’m thinking of other companies that have [potentially] went this way to get this type of equipment, especially at Christmas and especially with young people,” he said.

“Has there been any more complaints or any complaints to Trading Standards about equipment being like this because it’s very dangerous indeed.”

Trading Standards officers said they were unaware of any similar incidents and that punch bags were not a product that had been dealt with before locally.

The names of the companies and individuals involved in the Trading Standards investigation were not included in the committee report.

However, the report confirmed the local supplier “made no attempt to justify the presence of sharp objects” and provided evidence to prove it was a one-off supply of punch bags.

Support your Gazette and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news, the latest football stories and new puzzles every day. With a digital subscription, you can see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.