People with zombie-style knives and machetes are being urged to hand them in as a month long amnesty gets underway before tougher laws come into play.

Launched on Monday, there will be a month-long surrender scheme leading up to the law change, where these types of knives can be handed into police stations across the UK and compensation may be claimed from the Home Office.

The police's Operation Venture team will be supporting the scheme.

Since its formation in December 2022, Operation Venture, a dedicated team for cracking down on violence, particularly focussed on knife crime, have made a significant dent in criminality across the force area.

They’ve made 642 arrests, recovered 181 weapons and removed them from the streets, seized 113 vehicles and over £250,000 cash, recovered over £80,000 worth of drugs, and conducted 661 positive, proactive stop and searches on key offenders up to 31 July 2024.

The team move across different hotspot areas all over Greater Manchester, strengthening resources in districts to tackle violent crime and proactively looking to prevent, deter, reduce, and tackle knife crime head on, and at the root causes.

Their work feeds into the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit, a multi-agency team that seeks to prevent violence by addressing the underlying causes.

From September 24, manufacturing, supplying, selling, possessing, and importing of zombie-style knives and machetes will be governed by stricter laws.

Eleven stations across Greater Manchester have been named as collection points for these potentially deadly knives.

While some weapons might not qualify for compensation under this scheme, the surrender of any weapon is encouraged.

In January, approximately 3,000 knives collected through the amnesty bins were crushed and recycled.

Superintendent Caroline Hemingway, spearheading GMP’s response to knife crime, said: "I’m extremely proud of the work of our team and this new legislation will only help this further."

Deputy Mayor Kate Green added: "Officers from Operation Venture are proactively patrolling violence hotspots across Greater Manchester, taking knives off our streets and keeping people safe.

"Their work has had a huge impact in terms of reducing knife crime and the number of serious incidents that occur. "The team are also making referrals into services across Greater Manchester that can support young people and their families and provide them with positive alternatives to violence and criminality, such as our Navigator service."

Knives can be handed in at Bolton Police Station, Scholey Street, BL2 1HD