MORE than 80 knives have been surrendered in Redditch following a new project to make the streets safer.
The Save a Life, Surrender your Knife campaign was a national drive but officers in Redditch organised drop off points for people to get rid of their potentially dangerous blades in an attempt to reduce crime.
The knives were then delivered to the British Ironwork Centre in Oswestry to create a 26ft angel to spread awareness of the impact of knife crime.
More than 300 knives were counted from West Mercia and Warwickshire over the three week programme.
Inspector Darren Webster from Redditch Safer Neighbourhood Team said: “We are pleased with the response we’ve had with the amnesty in Redditch. It’s positive to see that a number of people have taken the opportunity to make the streets of our town safer for everyone.
“Whilst it may appear that Redditch had a higher knife count than other amnesty locations in our force area, a quantity of the knives were wrapped together and it’s believed they were donated by the same person, so this may account for the increase.
“Fortunately knife crime in Redditch is rare. Although the initiative has now finished, we will continue to work hard to keep our streets safe and we will take action against anyone who chooses to carry a knife.”
