A ban on the sale of pointed kitchen knives has been demanded by the Church of England as it says there is no reason for them in the modern world.

In a letter to ministers backed by a judge, top trauma doctors and psychiatrists, police and victims, Church of England bishops say re-designing domestic knives to give them rounded ends would combat knife crime by making “life-threatening” injuries “far less likely.”

They say sharp knife points were only used historically to pick up food because forks had not been invented and it was a time when they could be carried openly. Sharp points remain only as an anachronistic hangover from 18th century Britain during which forks became commonplace.

“Now we only need the point to open packets when we can’t be bothered to find the scissors,” said the Right Reverend James Langstaff, the Bishop of Rochester, the lead signatory and Bishop to HM Prisons.

He cited a five-year study in Edinburgh which found that 94 per cent of the sharp instruments used in homicides were kitchen knives.