Fylde coast police recover 50 bladed weapons including a machete in latest crackdown

And police from Lancashire Constabulary's West Division have arrested 22 people as part of Operation Sceptre, a week of action to tackle knife crime in the area.

Police officers and PCSOs have been carrying out sweep operations in selected areas and following up on tip offs from members of the public.

Sweeps involving seven officers at a time have taken place in such areas as Memorial Park, Fleetwood, while knife bins for people to drop off dangerous items have been in use in Bolton Street, Blackpool, London Street, Fleetwood and in Mereside, Blackpool, and emptied resulting in the haul of weapons.

Officers have been working with the UK Border Forces to track the import of potentially deadly blades and visit people on the Fylde coast who have ordered them from overseas online.

Sgt Jim Ormand from West Division said that the operation had been a success. He urged people not to carry blades in public without a reasonable purpose, warning that it was dangerous, would be regarded as a serious office in court and could result in jail.

He said: "Normally we would have four strands to an operation such as this, but due to the coronavirus lockdown it has had to be curtailed.

"We would normally do test purchases to ensure people are following the rules about age restrictions on knives, we would have an educational side visiting schools - but we have only been able to go into one this time - and our knife arch has not been used for social distancing reasons.

"But we have carried out sweeps in many areas and carried out proactive enforcement. This has thrown up lots of other things, so it has been a successful operation with 22 arrests.

"Not all were directly linked to knives, for example after a report of a person with a firearm in the street on Monday, we arrested a man in Dickson Road, Blackpool. It turned out to be an imitation, but people were not to know that.

"We arrested a man in Lord Street, Fleetwood, on Wednesday after reports of a man with a knife. He was found in possession of drugs but no knife. Another man was arrested in Bank Street, Blackpool after a stop and search.

He said online sales of knives were an issue as it is illegal to sell to under 18s, yet 16-year-olds can have a bank account and therefore could buy one. He said the police therefore do visits to homes of people who have bought such things online to make sure they are over aged and to check what the blade is to be used for. Some bought as tools were still illegal, he added.

He said carrying a knife without good reason could lead to a person getting a four year jail term as it is regarded as such a serious offence by the courts.

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