Almost 500 knives have been handed in to an amnesty bin in Colchester over a period of five months.

East Anglian Daily Times: Knives collected from the Colchester amnesty bin.Knives collected from the Colchester amnesty bin. (Image: Archant)

The bin was placed outside the town’s police station on January 28 by charity Only Cowards Carry Weapons Awareness.

Since then, 493 knives have been deposited into the amnesty bin and removed from Essex streets.

This follows the success of the Tendring Knife Amnesty Bin that was placed the same day and collected more than 300 knives in three months.

Just 12 days after the Tendring Knife Bin was emptied, the charity has revealed another 76 knives were collected.

Caroline Shearer, CEO of Only Cowards Carry, said: “We would like to thank the people of Colchester for being so aware and proactive, getting these knives and weapons off our streets, helping to create a safer community.

“We urge people to continue to use the bins to get rid of knives and any bladed instrument safely.”

Ms Shearer thanked Essex Police and The Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex for their support with the project.

The charity also placed knife amnesty bins in Chelmsford and Braintree on June 17.

Further bins will be put up in Southend, Basildon and other districts of Essex in the future.