A TOTAL of 74 knives and two extendable batons were handed in at Blackburn, Burnley and Colne Police Stations during a week-long weapons surrender.

A senior officer said the fact the knives were now off the streets could prevent the public and police from being seriously injured or killed.

The message from Superintendent Julian Platt comes days after father-of-two Tarro ‘Taz’ Grogan was fatally stabbed in Roe Lee, Blackburn, and a week after a 22-year-old man was found with several stab wounds in the Ballantrae Road area of the town.

Supt Platt said: "Every time we do these surrenders we still end up getting a number of weapons handed in, whether it's a firearms amnesty or a knife amnesty.

"It can only be a good thing when any weapon is taken off the street and to have this amount of knives handed in in East Lancashire can only be a positive.

"What price do you put on lives? It is especially highlighted when you have a tragic incident like at the weekend with a fatal stabbing.

"The other thing is police officers coming up against weapons. We are acutely aware of how vulnerable people are and anything we can do to help must be a good thing.

"From our point of view people can dispose of them throughout the year. They don't need to wait for these events to take place."

The week-long surrender was part of Operation Sceptre, a move to remove dangerous weapons from the street, reduce knife crime and raise awareness of the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife.

In the last weapons amnesty campaign, which took place in February, a total of 106 knives were handed in across the county.

Speaking last month, Chief Insp Mark Baines added: “While knife crime is not a major problem in the county, a knife is a lethal weapon – even one on Lancashire’s streets is one too many."

Police and crime commissioner Clive Grunshaw said: “I fully supported Lancashire Police’s involvement in this campaign to remove knives from our streets. Time and again we see the tragic impact on people’s lives as a consequence of knives being used."

“Campaigns such as this play an important role in reducing crime and re-offending, a key priority in my Police and Crime Plan. I’m committed to making our neighbourhoods safer and anything that helps to achieve this can only be a good thing.”