'I've taken 1,800 knives from people - it's scary'

Tony Batty has installed an amnesty bin in his barber shop in Barnsley

A barber who installed a knife amnesty bin in his shop said he had taken 1,800 weapons off the streets, as he appealed for more people to "drop them in the bin".

Tony Batty, who owns Tony's Barbers in Barnsley, created an anonymous drop-off point for blades in 2019. They are then collected by police for disposal.

Mr Batty said he wanted to renew his campaign in response to recent incidents of knife crime across South Yorkshire.

Addressing people who carry knives, he said: "Give it in, get shut of it, you could be saving a life and a lot of people a lot of upset."

He first set up the amnesty bin as part of the nationwide Barbers Against Blades campaign because he was scared about his own children being victims of knife crime.

However, he said that the problem had gotten "worse and worse" over the past six years.

"It seems to be happening every time you turn on the news or social media, somebody being stabbed, it's unbelievable and so scary."

Two people including a teenager were stabbed in the town centre last month

Mr Batty's appeal comes after a teenager and a man were left seriously injured in a stabbing in the town last month.

He believed people found to be carrying knives should receive tougher sentences to help combat the issue.

"If you carry a gun, you get five years," he said.

"If you carry a knife, you should be getting the same sentence in my eyes - you can cause as much damage with a knife."

He said other parents had told him they were scared about knife crime in schools, and some had handed over weapons they found belonging to their children.

More than 100 knives were brought into South Yorkshire schools over the past three years, and last month in Sheffield, a 15-year-old boy was detained for life with a 16-year minimum for the murder of fellow pupil Harvey Willgoose.

"If my son got stabbed, I can't imagine it," said Mr Batty.

"Just drop them in the bin, the police don't even ask where they come from, you can drop them off and nowt's said about it."

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