Man concerned at lack of response to knife find

The knife was found during a weekend when the area was subject to a dispersal order

The manager of a garage in Nottinghamshire has complained he has been left without help after finding a knife on the street.

Wayne King, owner of Jan's Service Centre, on Mansfield Road in Sutton-in-Ashfield, told the BBC he found the 4in (10cm) kitchen knife on the pavement on Saturday morning.

He said he had rung 101 three times but had got no answer after lengthy waits and the nearest police station was too far away to make taking it practical.

Nottinghamshire Police said there were other options he could have explored.

The location of the find is just a short distance from a primary school

Mr King told the BBC: "I was shocked and concerned it might have been used in a knife attack like we keep hearing about.

"Then we were concerned about what we were going to do with it."

Realising it was both a dangerous item and potentially evidence in a crime, Mr King wanted to report it to police.

However, three separate calls to the 101 non-emergency line resulted in frustrating and fruitless waits of about 20 minutes, he said.

"I was surprised it was so difficult to report it," he said. "I didn't think it was an emergency as I didn't know whether it had been used in a crime.

"But we are busy here and it is difficult in work hours to stay on the line for so long."

The knife was found on a weekend where Sutton-in-Ashfield was subject to a dispersal order due to anti-social behaviour, but Mr King felt the issue need not be crime-related.

"Nearly opposite our building is a primary school," he said.

"Had this been in the week rather than the weekend, lots of school children would have been walking past on their way to school."

Ch Insp Karl Thomas, the force's knife crime lead, said: "This resident has done exactly the right thing after discovering a discarded knife. Our advice is always to contact police.

"In addition to the 101 number, there is also our Livechat option."

The force said it had four permanent amnesty bins at stations across the county and knives, if packaged up safely, could be disposed of at recycling centres or, if labelled, in household waste.