Compensation Offered For Surrendering Weapons

Owners of weapons including zombie knives and knuckledusters are being offered cash compensation to hand them in to police.

Items soon to be outlawed, when the Offensive Weapons Act comes into force next year, can be surrendered at Market Harborough Police Station, under the three-month Government scheme to keep dangerous weapons off the streets.

It was already illegal to possess a knife or offensive weapon in public, but the new law makes it unlawful to possess certain rapid firing rifles, specific types of knives and other offensive weapons in private.

Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Police are supporting the national imitative – weapons can be surrendered at Market Harborough Police station between 10am and 4pm, Monday to Friday.

In order to claim compensation, owners of any items on the offensive weapons list must ensure the item is safely wrapped and boxed before bringing to a police station with a completed compensation form.

Leicestershire Police has already made contact with legal owners of the firearms listed to arrange for a surrender of the item.

Anyone who has not been contacted should call 101 to arrange for the item to be collected from an address. These should not be bought into stations.

For more information on the surrender scheme visit the guidance on the Government website.