More than 200 blades were recovered during a week-long countywide police operation.

Officers in Cheshire intensified their efforts to tackle knife crime in May as part of 'Sceptre'

Here in Macclesfield, that involved plainclothes officers paying regular visits to the town centre and hotspot areas to respond to unfolding incidents and catch offenders off guard.

Meanwhile, an amnesty in Macclesfield resulted in a number of knives being handed over to police, along with five razor blades and a syringe.

Police and fire crews carried out knife sweeps at parks across Cheshire (Credit: Cheshire Police)

Superintendent Cath Jones, who led the force's Sceptre week, said: "Over the course of May's Sceptre week, we saw some great examples of community engagement and partner relationship building that will help us continue to push the message that Cheshire is a hostile environment for anyone who chooses to carry a weapon.

"We have been busy working with our partner organisations, including local councils and charities, third-sector organisations, young people and community groups in conducting a number of activities such as knife sweeps, the delivering of safety demonstrations and the rolling out of knife arches and surrender bins in densely populated areas.

"Our officers have also been visiting the county's retailers along with colleagues from trading standards to conduct test purchase operations, ensuring that knives are not falling into the wrong hands. It was very reassuring to see that the majority of retailers are aware of the relevant rules in regulations surrounding the purchasing of, what can be, lethal weapons.

"Knife crime is not an issue police can tackle on their own, which is why engagement between your local policing teams, schools, youth organisations, community groups and businesses alike is incredibly important when it comes to pushing for a wider societal change.

"We want everyone to feel that they can come to the police with any issues, not just knife crime, so we can take immediate action and keep them safe."

Amnesty bins were set up in various locations around the county (Credit: Cheshire Police)

Cheshire Police's Sceptre operation ran from Monday (May 19) to Sunday (May 25) as part of the National Police Chief Council's week of activity aimed at tackling and reducing the impact of knife crime in local communities.

These efforts have already yielded positive results, with recent figures showing that possession of weapons offences in Cheshire have fallen by 6.6 per cent, with 727 incidents recorded in the 12 months to April 2025, compared to 778 recorded in the previous year.

For this week of action, the first of two for 2025, there was a particular focus on ensuring the county's retailers were aware of the rules and regulations surrounding the sale of bladed articles, leading to the conducting of several test purchase operations with local young people attempting to buy knives and blades without proper identification proving they were old enough to do so.

Officers also carried out knife sweeps at parks, engaged with youth organisations and schools, and set up knife arches at venues such as nightclubs.

All these efforts and more resulted in a total of 205 knives and bladed weapons being removed from the Cheshire's streets.