Police urge surrender of zombie knives and machetes

Under a surrender scheme, people can give the weapons to the police with no repercussions, and could receive compensation

West Midlands Police is urging people to surrender zombie knives and machetes, before they are banned under new legislation.

As part of a nationwide surrender scheme, people can hand in the weapons to police stations without repercussions and could receive compensation if the weapons meet the criteria.

Weapons can be surrendered to certain police stations in Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall from 26 August until 23 September.

From 24 September, it will be illegal to own zombie-style knives and machetes.

They are being added to a list of prohibited items which are already banned, including butterfly knives, Samurai swords and push daggers.

Zombie-style knives and machetes are defined as weapons with blades over eight inches (20cm) in length that normally have a serrated cutting edge.

They may also have more than one hole in the blade or multiple sharp points like spikes, said police.

A loophole meaning the weapons could be kept and sold if they did not have images depicting violence on their handles will be closed when the Offensive Weapons Act comes into effect next month.

Pooja Kanda, whose 16-year-old son Ronan Kanda was killed by a zombie knife in a case of mistaken identity near his home in Wolverhampton, has welcomed the ban, having campaigned for the weapons to be banned since his death.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: "The scheme runs for four weeks without repercussions for surrendering these potentially dangerous knives safely."

Anyone making a compensation claim can do so at the point of surrendering the weapon at their local police station.

Police forces will forward their application on to the Home Office to be processed.

West Midlands Police said weapons can be surrendered at the following stations:

• Birmingham Central Police Station, Snow Hill, Queensway Birmingham

• Bournville Police Station, 341 Bournville Lane, Bournville, Birmingham

• Stechford Police Station, 338 Station Road, Stechford, Birmingham

• Sutton Coldfield Police Station, Lichfield Road, Sutton Coldfield

• Coventry Central Police Station, Little Park Street, Coventry

• Brierley Hill Police Station, Bank Street, Brierley Hill

• West Bromwich Police Station, Moor Street, West Bromwich

• Solihull Police Station, Homer Road, Solihull

• Bloxwich Police Station, Station Street, Walsall

• Wolverhampton Police Station, Metro One Campus, Bilston Street, Wolverhampton