New weapon surrender bins installed in city

Ronan Kanda with his mother, Pooja Kanda, who became a strident anti-knife campaigner after his death

Two new weapon surrender bins have been installed in Wolverhampton, bringing the total number in the city to eight.

The metal boxes are available for people to anonymously dispose of knives, blades and other dangerous objects, with all deposited items being safely destroyed.

The two new bins have been put at St Joseph's Church on Coalway Road in Merry Hill, and at the junction of Green Lane and Prouds Lane in Bilston.

The bins have been commissioned by either the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner or the Home Office.

On the new bins are stickers which say 'In Loving Memory of Ronan' - a tribute to 16-year-old Ronan Kanda.

Ronan was killed by a zombie knife after being attacked by two teenagers in a case of mistaken identity, just yards from his home in Wolverhampton.

Since his death, Ronan's mother Pooja Kanda, and sister Nikita, have become avid anti-knife crime campaigners, which led to the introduction of Ronan's Law earlier this year which banned zombie knives.

This weapon surrender bin has a sticker on it which says 'In Loving Memory of Ronan', referring to 16-year-old Ronan Kanda who was killed with a zombie knife in a case of mistaken identity

The other weapon surrender bins can be found at:

• New Testament Church of God, Wednesfield Road, Heath Town

• Tabernacle Baptist Church, Dunstall Road, Whitmore Reans

• Morrisons Bilston, Black Country Route, Bilston

• St Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton

• St Chad and St Mark's Church, Lime Street, Pennfields

• Phoenix Park, Dudley Road, Wolverhampton

Councillor Obaida Ahmed said: "Sadly, knives and other dangerous weapons are very easy to obtain nationally but, if we are able to get them off the streets, they cannot be used to commit a crime or cause injury.

"Each [weapon surrender bin] plays a vital role in helping to prevent crime and keeping our communities safe by giving people who may be carrying blades the option to dispose of them safely and without fear."

Ahmed said nearly 3,600 weapons were deposited into weapon surrender bins across the West Midlands between February 2024 and March 2025.