POLICE have today launched a week-long knife amnesty as part of a national crackdown on bladed weapons.

There will be bins to dispose of knifes available at stations in Abingdon, Banbury, Bicester, HQ South, Oxford and Witney.

The amnesty will be operating throughout the whole Thames Valley.

In a similar amnesty last year the force collected 47 knives - including a potato peeler and tin opener. 

Figures show that knife crime increased by 32 per cent between April 1, 2016, and March 31 last year. Within the same period, possession offences rose by 27 per cent.

The amnesty will run until Sunday.