Church scheme collects more than 100 knives

|PIC1|A church-based initiative to allow young people to safely dispose of their weapons has collected more than a hundred knives.

Two Word 4 Weapons knife bins were placed outside St Marks Church and All Saints Church in the London Borough of Islington in March.

In exchange for their knives, young people were given an ‘All I Need’ pack containing a Bible, gifts and information on how to leave a life of crime.

The pilot programme of Word 4 Weapons ended in the London borough of Islington at the end of October.

Word 4 Weapons founder Michael Smith said he had been encouraged by the response to the scheme, set up in response to the high level of violent crime committed by young people in London.

“We believe our pilot programme will highlight the need for our knife bins,” he said.

Words 4 Weapons has already placed a new knife bin in Southwark and plans to place more bins in the London boroughs of Lambeth, Ealing and Westminster.

The scheme is being run in partnership with Street Pastors and has the backing of the police and local authorities.