More than 20,000 blades have been handed over to Suffolk Police since 2010 as part of an ongoing of a knife amnesty initiative.

The Bin a Blade scheme was launched in December 2010 and to date has seen 20,115 bladed items handed-in by members of the public.

It was launched in partnership with Holly Watson, an anti-knife campaigner whose brother Lewis was stabbed to death on a night out in Sudbury in 2009.

He was just 23.

Ms Watson along with BBC Radio Suffolk's Mark Murphy and former chief constable Simon Ash helped to launch Bin a Blade.

The scheme encourages the public to anonymously and safely dispose of unwanted knifes and blades.

Chief constable Gareth Wilson said: 'This is a significant milestone for the Bin a Blade campaign and I would like to thank all those people who have chosen to dispose of unwanted knives - and in some cases offensive weapons - in amnesty bins over the past seven years.'

Likewise, Suffolk's police and crime commissioner Tim Passmore pledged his support to the initiative.

He said: 'To see that over 20,000 blades have been collected since the initiative was launched is excellent.

'We need to do all we can through education, peer pressure, policing and sentencing to make it absolutely clear that it's never acceptable for a person to carry a knife or weapon.

'I find it really disappointing that anyone carries a blade of any kind.

'The Bin a Blade campaign and the use of these bins is a great way of highlighting the issue of knife crime, along with the national Operation Sceptre initiative.'

Mr Passmore added: 'I would encourage anyone who has a knife or any other weapon to dispose of them responsibly and immediately. Ultimately it is about making Suffolk as safe as possible.'

Suffolk Constabulary are currently taking part in Operation Spectre – a week of action tacking knife crime and dispelling myths around carrying blades for protection.

Knife amnesty bins can be found outside Ipswich Fire Station and at police stations in Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds, Mildenhall, Sudbury and Haverhill.

For more information and advice about knife crime visit: www.suffolk.police.uk/advice/personal-safety/knife-crime