DEVON & Cornwall Police collected more than 300 ninja swords during a July surrender scheme, enforcing new laws on dangerous weapons.

Throughout July, Police forces across England and Wales participated in the month-long Ninja surrender and compensation scheme, to remove this type of sword from the streets.

The campaign, led by the Home Office, ran from July 1 to 31 and is part of the wider national strategy to remove dangerous weapons from the streets and keep communities safe.

As of August 1, Ninja swords became illegal to own and it is now an offence to possess such a sword unless a specific legal defence applies.

During the month-long scheme 287 weapons, described as Ninja swords have been surrendered to Devon & Cornwall Police, a further 56 other bladed weapons were also surrendered.

Detective Inspector Kevin Morley, of Devon & Cornwall Police, who co-ordinated the scheme, said: ‘We have had over 300 swords and knives surrendered during July, which means these items are now off the streets.

‘Possession of banned weapons, even if just in a drawer or attic at home, can mean a prison sentence of more than four years.

‘Knife crime is not a major issue in our region, however we take it very seriously and will continue to educate the public and aim to remove knife crime from the streets.

‘Devon and Cornwall remain among the safest places to live in the country.

‘We will continue to use every available resource to combat knife crime and keep our neighbourhoods safe.

‘We urge anyone who has concerns about someone they know who carries a knife, or about knife crime in their community, to report it to us at dc.police.uk/tua‘.

Knife surrender bins are now permanently situated in many local police stations across the region so that the public can surrender knives safely and discreetly at any time.

Information about where knife surrender bins can be found at: dc.police.uk/peo