Hundreds of knives have been surrendered in Hertfordshire as part of a week of action against knife crime by Herts Police last month.

During the amnesty 720 knives were surrendered across the county which included swords, hunting knives, scalpels and a variety of kitchen knives and cleavers.

In Hatfield, 169 knives were handed into police while Stevenage had 28 and Hertsmere topped the county with 450 in total.

Inspector Nicola Dean, from Hertfordshire Constabulary’s crime reduction unit who led the campaign, said: “The knife amnesties form an integral part of our serious violence strategy and by conducting them regularly, we hope that the message is getting out that carrying a knife is not a normal thing to do.”

The police also carried out a #LivesNotKnives event on Instagram on Thursday July 23 as part of a push to tackle youth violence, which was attended by nearly 100 people.