Campaigner calls West Midlands knife amnesty a 'relief'
The amnesty has come in ahead of the ban on ninja swords in August
An anti-knife crime campaigner has called the opportunity for people to hand in knives in the West Midlands a 'relief'.
A knife amnesty will take place over the next month, with a particular focus on the West Midlands, Manchester and London.
What is a knife amnesty?
37 new weapon surrender bins are coming to London, the West Midlands and Manchester as part of the knife amnesty this month.
It means that people can surrender weapons anonymously, without going to a police station.
The government has targeted the West Midlands as it has the second highest rate of knife crime in England and Wales.
The James Brindley Foundation...
Beverley and Mark Brindley set up the James Brindley Foundation in ... when they lost their son James.
He was stabbed on his way home from the pub in Aldridge.
Through the foundation, they have brought a number of knife surrender bins to Walsall.
"They are no longer on the street"
Mark Brindley told us he is pleased there is a national knife amnesty:
"We are relieved. We have seen firearms, ninja swords and daggers in our knife bins. That means they are no longer on the street.
"I think a lot of people do not know the knife surrender bins are there, however," he said.
"We will continue this fight"
There will also be a knife surrender van that will tour the region, bringing the amnesty service directly to the community.
The amnesty has been implemented ahead of a ban on ninja swords which comes in on August 1st 2025.
It comes into force under Ronan's Law, a teenager murdered in 2022 in Wolverhampton.
Pooja Kanda has been calling for the change in law, ever since her son's murder. She says the amnesty is just the beginning:
"We will continue this fight with more measurements. This is one step forward only.
"I want young people to do the right thing and make life better for yourself by handing in the weapons you have," she said.