MORE than 180 knives were handed in at police stations during a campaign to tackle knife crime.

Operation Sceptre saw scores of weapons being handed in across Lancashire between March 11 and March 15.

During the five-day surrender people were able to anonymously hand in unwanted blades at surrender bins at front counters.

Police said 182 knives were disposed of following the campaign and will all be destroyed.

Detective chief superintendent Neil Ashton said: “This operation highlights the issue of knife crime and offers the opportunity for people who may be worried about a knife in their possession –or the possession of someone close to them – to hand them over.

“Many potentially dangerous blades have been handed in from members of the public and now cannot be used to hurt anybody.

“We know that over half of offences involving a knife happen in a private space and in most cases the offender was known to the victim, with a partner or family member often the perpetrator.

“We take all reports of offences involving a knife extremely seriously and we will continue to use all the powers at our disposal – such as section 60 orders, which allows us to use stop and search powers – in areas where we identify there is an issue.

“We are committed to keeping our communities safe and tackling violent crime is a priority for us.

“We will continue to work 24/7 and 365 days of the year and to act on intelligence.”

This comes as Judge Mark Brown spoke out while sentencing double knife-wielding Dylan Mark Slater, 27, for eight years and three months after he admitted causing the manslaughter of Blackburn father-of-two Tarro ‘Taz’ Grogan, about the devastating consequences of knife crime.

He said: “It highlights the spiralling nature of violence that knife crime creates and whatever the background or circumstances it can never be justified.”

Test purchasing operations were also carried out as part of the action against knife crime, with the force using volunteers to check on businesses selling knives or blades.

Clive Grunshaw, Lancashire’s police and crime commissioner said: “I’m pleased that this knife surrender has seen many knives handed in to the police, with our communities safer as a result.

“Knives are deadly weapons and during this surrender we have seen these removed from our streets.

“Carrying a knife is illegal and the police have been clear that you will be arrested and prosecuted if you are caught with one.”