A knife and weapons surrender will run across Merseyside from Monday 15 May to Sunday 21 May with the motto of “Surrender a knife, save a life”.

Drop-off points will be available at general enquiry offices of 10 police stations across Liverpool, St Helens, Knowsley, Sefton and Wirral.

The surrender is for anyone who wants to dispose of a knife, bladed article or other offensive weapon, such as knuckle dusters or friction lock batons to do so safely.

Many weapons are kept by people innocently ignorant of their illegality. The surrender gives members of the public the chance to dispose of a knife anonymously with no questions asked by visiting a local police station. Taking part in the surrender helps to keep unwanted knives out of circulation and stop them falling into the wrong hands.

Any type of knife or sharp item can be handed in to a police station during the surrender period, and members of the public are not required to give any personal details.

Merseyside Police said: “Please take care when bringing a knife to a surrender location. Consider securely wrapping the bladed item in cardboard or a tea towel.

“The knives are destroyed unless they show signs of being used in a crime, in which case we have a duty to investigate.

“If you can’t make it to a police station, you can report that you wish to dispose of a knife to our contact centre by calling 101, or through Twitter @MerPolCC and Facebook.”

Merseyside Police added: “The knife surrender is just one element of our wider approach to tackling knife crime and as a force we put significant effort into putting a stop to this issue.”

The knife surrender is running alongside Op Sceptre, a national campaign to tackle knife crime and make our communities safer.

The items that cannot be possessed in private according to Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offesive Wepaons) include: Knuckleduster, Swordstick, Handclaw, Belt Buckle Knife, Push Dagger, Hallow Kubotan, Footclaw, Flick Knives, Shuriken/Death Star, Balisong/Butterfly Knife, Telescopic Truncheon, Blowpipe/Blow Gun, Kusari Gama, Kyoketsu Shoge, Manrikigusari / Kusari, Zombie Knives, Cyclone/ Spiral Knives, and Curved Sword.

You can find out your nearest drop-off point here.

(Source: Merseyside Police)