Overview
- Police said they were immediately dispatched after members of the public reported a number of men, one believed to have a knife, at Portstewart Strand on Sunday afternoon.
- Officers spoke with the group and carried out a search of their van, which established the blade had been used to prepare food for a barbecue.
- The knife was removed for disposal, no criminal offences were recorded and police confirmed no further action will be taken.
- The beach was busy with families at the time, a factor that local reports say likely increased public concern and the speed of the police response.
- NI Direct guidance notes that carrying a knife in public is an offence without a 'good reason', which helps explain why officers seized the blade despite finding no criminal intent.