WEST Mercia Police is appealing for people in Redditch to surrender their knives with a week-long knife surrender starting next week.

The Save a Life, Surrender Your Knife campaign will be running as part of the national Operation Sceptre knife awareness campaign.

To support the campaign, Warwickshire/West Mercia Police will have a knife bin at Redditch Police Station.

A police spokesman said: "Many knives are held in innocence or ignorance of their illegality. The surrender gives these people the chance to dispose of the knife anonymously with no questions asked, by simply dropping it into a knife bin at their local station.

"The surrender will run from Tuesday, September 18 until Monday, September 24.

"During the campaign, those surrendering knives will not have to give any personal details and will not face prosecution for carrying them.

"However, the force will carry out an investigation and seek to prosecute if they believe a knife has been used to commit a criminal offence."

Throughout the campaign, local policing teams will be running events raising awareness of the dangers of knife crime.

They will also maintain a zero-tolerance approach to people carrying knives – they will not show leniency to anyone stopped and found to be in possession of a knife.

The spokesman said they will be arrested as normal and appropriate action will be taken.

Chief Superintendent Mark Travis, said: “Although knife crime is rare in the West Mercia Policing area, when it happens it can have a devastating effect on people’s lives and one incident of knife crime is one too many.

“People have a week in which they can anonymously deposit their knives or blades into a surrender bin. I would urge people to take this opportunity and help prevent further tragedies.”