POLICE have vowed to crack down on knife crime after a series of incidents in St Helens.

The force's area commander for St Helens says more people will be stopped and searched, and there will be a higher police presence on the streets.

This comes after an attack this weekend in the town centre which saw three people injured, with two of them remaining in a critical condition.

Last September, former doorman Danny Fox died in the early hours after receiving a stab wound to the chest.

Other incidents have included a taxi driver being forced out of his car at knife-point in December and March saw a 16-year-old girl stabbed outside Queens Park Leisure Centre and a 14-year-old boy being stabbed and beaten up by a gang in Parr Stocks Road.

St Helens Area Commander, Superintendent Louise Harrison, said: "I want to make it clear that Merseyside Police will not tolerate the use of knives on our streets, and we are conducting extensive investigations in relation to recent incidents.

"We will be proactively disrupting people and vehicles in St Helens in the coming days as we look to get knives off the streets.

"Members of the communities can expect to see a heightened presence of officers and I want to reassure them that this measure is to disrupt those intent on bringing knives onto the streets of St Helens.

"We will relentlessly pursue those believed to be responsible for such attacks, and a number of arrests have been made in recent days and weeks as we continue our enquiries."

She added: "Carrying any offensive weapon in public is a criminal offence, regardless of the reason. The courts take these incidents extremely seriously and the penalties for even carrying a weapon can be severe.

"It is never acceptable for someone to carry a knife and I want to remind people of the devastating consequences that can result from people choosing to carry them, especially amongst young people, who may not appreciate the seriousness of their actions. I would urge anyone who believes that they know someone is carrying a knife or other bladed weapon to strongly discourage them from doing so. Everyone has a responsibility for this: police, partners, parents, families, teachers and friends.

"Merseyside Police is absolutely committed to eradicating knife crime and alongside our partners, we will continue to educate, enforce and act on any information given to us, to make the streets safer.

"We will be running a number of initiatives in the coming weeks to talk to young people about the risks of carrying knives and we will take robust action wherever necessary to get this message across. We also work in close partnership with British Transport Police and Trading Standards to carry out test purchases of weapons to educate retailers about having a responsible approach to selling knives and we use knife arches and knife wands as a deterrent to stop people carrying knives.

"I also want to reassure our communities that we will act on all information reported to us in relation to violent crime and knives."

Anyone with information can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously and for free on 0800 555 111.