More than 1,000 knives recovered in police amnesty

More than 1,100 knives were taken off a county's streets in six days.

Lancashire Police said the knives were recovered in its East Division during the crackdown last month.

Bins were placed in Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Burnley, Pendle, the Ribble Valley and Rossendale and 1,111 potential weapons were surrendered.

Other operations included 43 test purchase visits to check retailers were not selling knifes to under 18s and five shops were caught out. Weapon sweeps in local parks and public spaces were also carried out.

Officers also visited 36 schools to highlight the dangers of carrying knives.

Sgt Michael Johnson of Lancashire's violence reduction network said: "Our teams work tirelessly throughout the year to reduce knife crime and make it clear that it has no place in our communities.

"If you have information about someone carrying a knife, you can report it anonymously through Crimestoppers."

An identical operation in June yielded similar results.

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