Hucknall: Over 200 weapons handed in during Nottinghamshire Police amnesty last month

Nottinghamshire Police have confirmed that more than 200 weapons were handed in by members of the public during a successful two-week amnesty last month.

To help keep people safe the force allowed anyone to safely dispose of knives and other banned weapons without the fear of being punished.

The amnesty was held from 16-29 August, following the introduction of new legislation under The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 . This means that it is now illegal to have certain types of knives and other items even at home in private, as well as it being an offence to carry them in public.

Some of the weapons recovered during the amnesty included those now covered by the new laws such as zombie knives, swords, flick knives, throwing stars and a knuckleduster.

Of the 244 weapons which were deposited in 11 amnesty bins across the force area, 158 were kitchen knives.

Others included hunting knives, machetes, daggers, lock knives, truncheons, a crowbar, hand axe and steel bar. Two starting pistols were also handed in.

Superintendent Kathryn Craner, Nottinghamshire Police's knife crime lead, said: "We are delighted with the number of knives that were safely deposited and taken out of harm's way.

"Any knife or weapon which is handed in is one less on our streets and I would like to thank members of the public who disposed of weapons and who continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us as we strive to drive down knife crime and weapon-enabled violence in our communities.

"It is fantastic to have removed so many weapons from circulation, many of which would have had the potential to cause lethal harm in the wrong hands.

"This positive response from the public shows that people are realising that possessing knives, both in public and private, is unacceptable and they understand the potentially devastating consequences that knife and weapon-enabled crime can have on their own lives and other people's lives."

"The force will continue to relentlessly pursue those who choose to arm themselves and commit crime in Nottinghamshire and we want to make it very clear the possession and use of knives and other weapons on our streets will not be tolerated."

The latest national figures show that knife crime in Nottinghamshire fell by 15 per cent in the last financial year and offences of violence with injury also plummeted by a quarter.

To find out more about the changes to the Offensive Weapons Act legislation, meaning it is now illegal to possess certain items in private as well as in public, search 'Offensive Weapons Act 2019' online.