Fewer than one in five knife offenders is sent to prison

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The parliamentary statistics also show that only 17 per cent of convicts were sent to jail - an almost identical proportion to previous years - despite promises of tougher punishments.

Most offenders received community punishments, while the majority of those imprisoned received sentences of three months or less. Only seven were given more than 18 months.

The figures were released by the Conservatives, who claimed they showed that the Government's firm rhetoric over knife crime was not being matched by action.

The 2007 statistics show that 6,121 people were convicted for carrying a blade - 160 fewer than the previous year. But only 1,060 of them were sent to jail - fewer than one in five.

None received the maximum sentence for the offence, despite the Government's decision that year to raise this from two to four years in jail to reflect the seriousness of the crime.

Figures for this year have yet to be published, although a major campaign against knife crime has led to a significant rise in the number of arrests.