POLICE seized this knife from a park on Tuesday (August 11).

Officers say they came across the knife in Gaskell Park in Parr after receiving intelligence from the community.

Police say the weapon will now be destroyed.

St Helens Police said: "As a result of community intelligence this knife was found earlier in Gaskell Park, Parr and will now be destroyed.

"Thanks for the information."

St Helens Star:

Pic: St Helens Police

Knife crime has been an issue in the spotlight in St Helens.

As reported last week, crime figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that nationally there were 46,265 offences in the 12 months to the end of March this year, up from 43,706 in the previous the previous year and the highest on record.

In Merseyside, knife-related offences have seen a huge increase in the past decade, from 594 in 2010 to 1,424 in 2019-20 – an increase of 140 per cent.

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In St Helens, The Daniel Fox Foundation, was set up by the family of Daniel, a 29-year-old man from Thatto Heath who died in 2016 after being stabbed in St Helens town centre, has been on a mission to raise awareness of knife crime.

Part of the foundation’s work has involved educating school children about the devastating impacts that can come from carrying a knife.

The foundation launched the #NoMoreKnives campaign in 2017 and is currently lobbying Westminster for a change in the law to make sentences for knife possession the same as for carrying a firearm.