A BIN for those carrying knives to deposit them anonymously is being launched in Mildenhall.

The knife amnesty bin at Mildenhall Police Station will be the fourth permanent one as part of the Bin A Blade campaign.

Since the yearlong amnesty started on December 14 last year 1972 knives have been deposited anonymously in the first three secure bins outside Ipswich, Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds Police Stations.

A further 264 knives have been placed in the two mobile bins in Leiston and Haverhill.

All the deposited knives will be taken to Sackers Recycling in Great Blakenham where they will be stored securely.

At the end of the amnesty Sackers will tip them all into their metal shredder to be safely disposed of.

Anti-knife crime campaigner Holly Watson, whose brother Lewis, 23, was stabbed in Sudbury in 2009, said: “I think the amount of knives that have been binned is overwhelming.

“I am so glad that so many people have responded so well to the Bin A Blade campaign.

“I really hope people continue to Bin A Blade as each knife binned is a life saved or an injury prevented.

“Carrying a knife is unacceptable and I hope that people see this and realise that the best place for them is in the permanent or mobile knife bins where they can be taken out of circulation, destroyed and then recycled - not in your pocket, bag etc.”

On Friday Neil Ireland, Forest Heath Safer Neighbourhood Team Inspector, will be launching the latest static bin outside Mildenhall Police Station.

The bin was already in place from previous amnesties but had not been in use.

Also on Friday, the mobile bins will be moving from Leiston and Haverhill Police Stations to Woodbridge Police Station on Grundisburgh Road and Stowmarket Police Station on Violet Hill Road.

Both bins will be available for depositing knives during station opening hours of 9am to 5pm.