PEOPLE can surrender knives into bins at police stations across Oxfordshire as part of a operation to crack down on crime involving blades.

Operation Sceptre will see 16 police stations across the Thames Valley have 'knife surrender bins' for members of the public to dispose the weapons between July 17 and July 23.

Police spokesman James Williams said: "Knife crime is deplorable and as a force we try to educate men, women and children not to use knives as weapons.

"We have held a number of knife amnesties in the past and also support the national campaign Surrender Your Knife which aims to raise awareness of knife crime and reduce the number of knives being used as weapons.

"There is no need to carry a knife as protection, and the sad truth is that if you do it will often be used as a weapon against you."

People are advised to make sure that all knives are safely wrapped in tape and newspaper before they are put in the bins.

The police stations in Oxfordshire which will have the bins in them are Abingdon, Banbury, Bicester, Oxford.

Thames Valley's Police headquarters in Kidlington will also have a surrender bin.

All knives are surrendered anonymously, no names will be taken and there will be no CCTV cameras recording.

If you have any information about the possession of knives or criminal activity relating to this type of crime, please call 101 or alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.