More than 900 blades were handed to police stations curing a county wide amnesty police have revealed, 54 of which came from the Watford area.

The knife awareness campaign, which ended last week, gave people the chance to hand in all types of blades, from cutlery to machetes, anonymously into deposit bins at police stations.

Watford police station collected 26, 13 handed into Rickmansworth, while 12 were handed in Oxhey and three recieved by North Watford. The blades varied from pen knives to hunting knives and included five machetes and a sword.

Although the six-week campaign has officially ended, police have chosen to keep the bins for a further two weeks.

Detective Superintendent Mark Drew said: “Whilst we don’t share the same knife crime issues as inner city areas, one incident is one incident too many.

“This campaign aimed to show both residents, and those tempted to carry a knife, our commitment to keeping knife crime out of Hertfordshire, and I’d like to thank the community for playing their part.

“Although the campaign has officially ended, the deposit bins will stay in place for the next few weeks offering people the opportunity to deposit a bladed item safely. Remember, if you carry a knife, it could be used against you.

“The past six weeks have been very successful, but of course, this is not the end - we will continue to make use of every tactic available to us, including the targeted use of metal detecting arches, to help keep knife crime out of the county.”

The recovered knives were shredded at Ampthill Metal Company in Ampthill, Bedford last week.

Hemel Hempstead flew above the district average which varied from eight to 70 with 205 blades handed to police, including 56 hunting knives.

Those caught in possession of a knife will be arrested and faces up to four years in prison.

Anyone with information on knife crime should contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111