Hundreds of knives surrendered in Merseyside amnesty

The Knife Angel, made by artist Alfie Bradley, took more than two years to create

Hundreds of knives have been surrendered as part of an amnesty after a campaign featuring a striking sculpture made out of blades.

Over the past four weeks the Knife Angel has been on show in Birkenhead Park in Wirral.

The sculpture is made from more than 100,000 knives surrendered as part of other amnesties arranged by police.

A total of 350 knives were handed in to the amnesty bins set up across the region.

The sculpture was built to highlight knife crime across the UK and to help educate young people about the dangers of carrying weapons.

The Knife Angel was in Wirral for the month of July after a period in Aberystwyth throughout June

Supt Phil Mullally, of Merseyside Police, said: "We've had a fantastic month of activity around the Knife Angel.

"We hope we can work to educate our communities and make people think twice before picking up a knife."

Supt Mullally said the amnesty had been a success and there had been "lots of positive engagement" with schools.

The Knife Angel began its official Anti-Violence Tour across the UK in December 2018, visiting various places including Liverpool, Birmingham, Coventry and Hull.

The sculpture is made out of 100,000 confiscated knives