Shotguns dumped in Wolverhampton knife surrender bin
Armed police were sent to a knife surrender bin in Wolverhampton after shotguns were found inside.
The guns were among the chilling haul of deadly weapons found dumped in knife surrender bins across the Black Country this week.
More than 450 blades – including machetes, huge kitchen knives, zombie knives and meat cleavers – have been left in the bins across the West Midlands since September.
Across the Black Country alone, almost 350 have been handed in – including more than 200 which were dumped in the bin outside Morrison’s in Bilston.
Two shotguns were discovered in the Dunstall Road bin in Wolverhampton on Thursday.
WATCH: The deadly weapons found inside
One was a long barrelled shotgun, the other was a sawn off shotgun.
The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, David Jamieson, said: “Whilst it is unusual to find two large guns in one of the knife bins, I am pleased the person who left them there made the right choice and decided to hand the guns in.
“Every weapon taken off our streets is potentially a life saved.
“We currently have 12 knife bins across the West Midlands, but I plan to increase that to 20 by April next year.
“As well as ensuring police deliver a robust response to those who carry weapons, the bins are just one of the many ways we are working to tackle the recent rise in violent crime.”
The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson visited the Bilston site this week to see the latest collection of blades that have been emptied from the weapon surrender bins this week.
He has vowed to introduce more knife surrender bins across the region for “the communities that want them”.
“We’ve found 450 knives in bins across the region and in the past we’ve even found guns and ammunition,” he said. “This is part of the work being doing to reduce knife crime and the harm that it brings to people.
“I’d be concerned if the bins hadn’t been put in and we didn’t have the knives. It gives an illustration of how many knives are about.
“Each of those knives that has been handed in is one one that someone will no longer be able to use on the street. We suspect a lot of them a put in by family members, perhaps girlfriends or mothers who find it round the house and put it in the bins.
“If you’ve got a knife and have thought about using it just come and quietly dispose of it and then it won’t be there to be used and be a danger to you and someone else.”
GALLERY: Weapons left in surrender bins
The weapon surrender bins are part of ongoing work around tackling gangs and violence in the West Midlands and relates closely to the recommendations of the PCC’s Gangs and Violence Commission.
The PCC is expanding the programme which will see 20 surrender bins in the region by April 2019.
It comes after a string of stabbings across the Black Country.
Last July, figures revealed fifty-five knife crimes take place in the West Midlands every week – almost one every three hours.
The weapons which have been recovered from the bins will now be destroyed.
Sharlie Morais also attended visited the Bilston site – not far from where her cousin was stabbed 10 times last year.
The 32-year-old works with Shareece Dennis-Beecher, aged 26, at the YMCA’s Talent Match scheme in Wolverhampton, which works with young adults who have been involved with crime.
“The knife bin is an amazing thing – but it’s only the start,” she said.
“We need to plan what we’re going to do next. I would urge people to drop knives in the bin and lets work and talk to them afterwards.
“What makes you think that having a knife is going to help you in anyway?
"I know a lot of young people who carry knives, not because they’re intent on killing someone but it’s a threat.
“Last year my cousin was stabbed ten times just past the petrol station on the main road.
"When these things start happening to your family, I can go to work and can try and prevent knife crime and gun culture.
"But when you’re not at work and get a phone call to say your cousin has been stabbed it brings it closer to home. It makes you want to do more.”
The knife bins in the Black Country are in Whitmore Reans, Heath Town, Bilston, Wolverhampton, Dudley and Oldbury.
