Potentially lethal weapons handed to police during knife-crime crackdown in South Yorkshire

The haul of knives and weapons were handed to officers at Ecclesfield police station today by a member of the public.

It comes as part of a week-long campaign by South Yorkshire police in a bid to tackle knife-related incidents in the region.

The campaign has seen officers across Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield conducting high visibility policing operations including open land searches and executing warrants to find weapons.

So far, officers have arrested 24 people and 46 knives have recovered or seized.

They have also taken part in engagement stalls within communities, put up knife arches, held school visits to educate young people on the risks of carrying knives, and conducted test purchase operations.

During the test purchase operations, young people, normally police cadets in plain clothes,  go into stores and attempt to buy knives.

Some premises have failed the test purchases and received either written or oral warnings.

At one warrant in Doncaster yesterday, September 20, officers recovered 12 knives that are suspected of being illegally imported as well as two batons.

Detective Superintendent Una Jennings, force lead for armed criminality, said: 'We've already seen some fantastic results from our teams across South Yorkshire and a number of dangerous weapons have been taken off our streets.

'In addition to the knives recovered and seized, we've seized other dangerous items that have either been found during our open land searches or during warrants '“ items that could be used to cause harm or injury to another.

'Fourteen people have been arrested for knife-related offences and as a result of our proactive focus in support of Operation Sceptre, we've also arrested a further ten people for a range of offences across the force over the last few days.

'Our commitment to protecting our communities in support of Operation Sceptre shows no sign of slowing as we move into the weekend. We will have a number of high visibility policing operations within our city and town centres, as well as knife arches, as people head out to enjoy their weekend.

'Anyone carrying a knife can expect a robust response and swift action '“ there is no excuse to be carrying a weapon on our streets.'