More than 500 knives surrendered during amnesty

Weapons were handed in to amnesty bins and seized during police operations

More than 500 knives have been handed in to a police force during a week-long amnesty.

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary said 553 knives were placed in amnesty bins during Operation Sceptre, a biannual national initiative which ran from 13 to 19 November.

The force said the total was four times the number from the preceding operation in May.

It said a further 84 knives were seized during arrests and other operations.

The bins will remain at police stations until the end of the year

Ch Supt Clare Jenkins said: “These figures for surrendered knives and weapons may sound alarming to the public, but I’d like to offer reassurance that we are tackling knife crime with a zero-tolerance attitude.

"The surrender bins provide a safe way for our communities to help clear our towns and cities of offensive weapons."

The force said it carried out a number of searches and planned operations as part of Operation Sceptre.

In Gosport a house search revealed 17 knives and offensive weapons, police said.

On the Isle of Wight a "female habitual knife carrier [was] stop-checked in a serious violence hotspot and found in possession of a knife", officers added.

Also on the island, two under-18-year-olds were issued with community resolution orders for ordering knives online.

The force said the surrender bins would remain at police stations until the end of the year.