MORE than 360 knives and bladed items were handed in to police during the week-long knife amnesty held in Devon and Cornwall last month.

The amnesty was part of the ongoing national knife crime reduction initiative Operation Sceptre and ran from March 11 to 17.

All of the knives and other items surrendered anonymously will be destroyed and cannot now fall into the wrong hands, police said.

In all there were 367 items, which were mostly knives or bladed articles, but included a handful of other items such as arrow heads and four BB guns.

As with previous amnesties, many domestic knives were binned.

Outside of amnesty periods, people with unwanted knives can dispose of them in household waste as long as they are packaged securely so as to avoid handling injuries. Otherwise they can be deposited along with other bladed items in the metal recycling skip at reclamation facilities.

Anyone with any questions to do with bladed items and how to dispose of them, or is concerned about transporting them, should get in touch with Devon and Cornwall Police via dc.police.uk/ClickB4UCall

Superintendent Jeremy Capey said: “The number of knives and bladed items handed in is in line with the last three amnesties. People have taken the time and trouble to hand in potentially dangerous items which have now been destroyed.

"As a preventive measure, coupled with increasingly stringent national legislation on the sale of knives, we feel this is proportionate and helpful in maintaining a much lower level of knife related incidents than in other areas of the country.

“Having said that we are not complacent and would urge anyone who has concerns that a relative of friend may be carrying a knife with no good reason to contact the police. You can do that anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0300 123 2040 if you prefer.”

Police said there were very few good reasons to carry a knife and very clear laws on who can buy knives and on what type of bladed articles are banned.

Current government advice and legislation on selling, buying and carrying knives can be found at www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives

Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, Alison Hernandez, said: “We’ve all heard about the devastating damage knives do to people and communities and I’d like to thank all of those who have used this opportunity to do the right thing and take a dangerous weapon out of circulation.

“We’re fortunate that Devon and Cornwall remain two of the safest counties in the country and we want to keep it that way.”