Here's your chance to hand over your knives and help cut violent crime in Milton Keynes

A weapons bin will be outside The Frank Moran Centre in Bletchley’s Melrose Avenue between 10am and 2pm.

The move has been organised by the MK South Neighbourhood Policing team in partnership with West Bletchley Parish Council.

A police spokesman said: “We are doing these amnesty’s (sic) to show our commitment to tackling violent crime and remove weapons from the streets.”

A similar amnesty earlier this move at Oakgrove resulted in 30 weapons being handed in.

Meanwhile police have reminded people it is now illegal to possess certain weapons in their home as well as in a public place.

“If you have items such as knuckledusters, flick knives or zombie knives in your home, this is now against the law and could land you with a criminal record. We are holding an amnesty so you can hand these in safely and anonymously,” said the spokesman.

The aim of amnesties is to remove dangerous weapons from the city’s streets, reduce knife crime and raise awareness of the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife.

In Milton Keynes, where there were four fatal stabbings in the first three months of this year, this is a particularly relevant initiative.

Following each incident, parts of the city spent long periods under a Section 60 order. This gives uniformed police officers power to stop any pedestrian, or any vehicle driver and any passengers and search them and/or their property for offensive weapons or dangerous instruments, regardless of whether there are any grounds for suspecting possession.