IF you heard a police appeal being broadcast warning you that a dangerous character was on the loose and he was armed, you might assume he had a knife or a gun.

You wouldn’t think for a moment that he would be armed with... a pencil sharpener.

But according to a member of staff in a 99p store, a pencil sharpener is deemed to be “lethal” or “dangerous” in the wrong hands.

And that’s why a girl of 14 was told she could not buy a Glee stationery set.

You have to wonder what whoever dreamed up that rule thinks the consequences could be if Glee stationery sets fell into the wrong hands. Why, there could be an army of teenagers out there causing untold havoc by listening to their favourite TV series and its show choir... while dangerously sharpening their pencils.

The case isn’t really about pencil sharpeners... but about well-intentioned health and safety rules that fall into the wrong hands.