A DEADLY blade disguised as a gun was one of 311 weapons removed from a knife amnesty bin - just four months after it was launched.

The bin outside Southend police station, in Victoria Avenue, was installed by anti-weapons charity Only Cowards Carry in July.

It was emptied on Thursday by officers and charity founder Caroline Shearer, who said the haul showed the vast array of weapons being carried on the streets.

She said: “It’s the first one of these that I’ve seen. It obviously shows what’s out there on the streets.

“You have only got to look at it to see how dangerous it is. You can imagine what could happen if a kid finds that, it would be awful.

“Imagine it being held to someone’s head and they just think it’s a toy gun and try to whack it away.

“We found all sorts in there, from flick-knives to a handmade machete.

“This is why we don’t want amnesties to be for just a month. It’s got to be continuous.

“This just proves that they have got to be kept there.”

Echo:

Mrs Shearer, whose son Jay Whiston was murdered in Colchester in 2012, said she wants to see an extra bin placed somewhere closer to troubled communities in Southend following a spate of stabbings.

She said “People are going out of their way to use the bin, but we would like to see one in York Road.

“There is a cost and as we are just a charity people can sponsor the bins and have their company logo on it.

“We need to keep going because this is just never-ending.”

Chief Insp Scott Cannon, Southend district commander, said the number of knives collected was a good result.

He said: “I am pleased to see such a large number of knives taken off the streets.

“All these knives could have gone on to cause serious injury or death to someone.

“It’s really positive that people have taken action and come forward and made some potentially life-changing decisions to discard these weapons.

“We are aware of a knife crime issue in Southend and are working really closely with partners to deal with it.

“We have got a zero tolerance approach to anyone carrying a knife or other weapon.

“Thankfully, incidents in Southend are still quite rare.

“Much of it is around gang and drug-related crime and our dedicated Operation Raptor officers are working really hard to tackle and disrupt gangs.”