MORE than 50 knives and blades have been handed in at Rhayader Police Station as a result of the latest Dyfed Powys Police area-wide Operation Sceptre amnesty.

It accounted for nearly half of the total of 137 blades handed in in the whole of Powys of the more than 660 knives and blades handed in across the whole Dyfed-Powys area.

The Rhayader police station number was reported by the Radnorshire Neighbourhood Policing Team, but Dyfed-Powys Police said they had no further information about what was handed in at each station or the reasons.

Knife amnesty bins where people could dispose of blades with no questions asked, were placed at police stations after the force took part in the national knife crime awareness and amnesty campaign last month.

The campaign involved visiting shops, schools, youth clubs and partner agencies to advise on the laws around selling and carrying knives.

A sword and an axe were among items surrendered in Powys but other area included a machete, a knuckle duster, and a walking stick with a concealed blade.

Inspector Tim Davies said the overall result of 661 knives being taken off the streets was a significant increase on the number surrendered during the previous operation in September.

The larger number was attributed to increased awareness of knife crime nationally rather than to any increase in knife-related crime in Dyfed-Powys where there is still a lower rate of knife crime than the national average with 31 crimes involving knives per 100,000 of the population in the year ending March 2018 compared with 37 for Wales and 69 nationally.

“We would like to assure that Dyfed-Powys remains a safe area to live and work. Operation Sceptre was an opportunity for us to educate people about the laws around selling and carrying knives, as well as allowing people to hand in knives or blade as part of the amnesty,” said Inspector Davies.

“The effects of knife crime can be devastating, and we are committed to doing all we can to spread the message that carrying a knife is not OK.

“Although this operation has come to an end, we are keen to reach out to members of the public who may have information about people who carry knives. I would encourage anyone with information to have the confidence to come forward and report it by calling 101,” Inspector Davies added.