An amnesty and compensation scheme for ‘zombie-style’ knives and machetes has begun as owners were urged to surrender their weapons ahead of a ban coming in.
The Home Office drive is now in operation at police stations across England and Wales after starting at midnight today, and will run until 11.59pm on September 23.
Those who safely hand over the knives before it becomes illegal to own them on September 24 will not face repercussions, the Government has confirmed.
The weapons will then be added to the list of dangerous items already banned, including butterfly knives, Samurai swords and push daggers.
Anyone caught with a zombie-style knife or machete after this time faces prison.
If someone can show evidence of the knife’s value, such as a purchase receipt, they will get the full value for the blade because they were bought when the blades were legal to own.
Those who return a knife with no proof of purchase will only be able to receive £10 per blade.
To receive the compensation, they must surrender three knives or more – with the maximum payout in this case being £30.
To receive payment you will need to complete a form via the gov.uk.
The public can also dispose of the blades using surrender bins by contacting their local police, council or an anti-knife crime charity.
There are currently 23 Word4Weaponsknife bins located across London. These can be found on their website https://www.word4weapons.co.uk/bin-locations/.