Thousands of knives surrendered in amnesty scheme

More than 4,000 knives have been taken out of circulation across part of Staffordshire over the past two-and-a-half years, as part of an ongoing amnesty campaign, council bosses have said.

The initiative encouraged residents in the Lichfield district to safely dispose of unwanted knives in dedicated bins across the area.

The blades that are collected are then taken to the British Ironworks Centre near Oswestry, Shropshire, to be melted down and recycled.

The bins were located at Morrisons in Lichfield, Morrisons in Burntwood, Tesco Extra in Lichfield and at Burntwood Leisure Centre.

The project forms part of a wider anti-violence partnership between Lichfield District Council's community safety team and Staffordshire Police aiming to remove weapons from communities.

Councillor Richard Cox, cabinet member for community and public protection, said he was pleased the campaign had continued to gain momentum.

"It's important to take [the knives] out of circulation so they can then be melted down and turned into other items," he said.

"This campaign is helping the district become safer, and I would ask residents to keep supporting it."

Since the knife bins were first introduced in August 2023, a total of 4,458 blades have been collected across the district - including 1,958 blades which were deposited between May 2025 and March 2026.

"With our partners, we have taken more than 4,000 knives out of circulation in less than three years which is a great example of how this is working to prevent serious violence," said Ch Insp Stuart Coleman.

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