The permanent knife amnesty bins located in Sheffield communities following spate of stabbings

Sheffield's streets have been plagued with a number of stabbings in recent weeks including one on Wilcox Road, Fox Hill yesterday (Wednesday, May 12) which left a man in his 20s needing to be treated at hospital.

The body of a man was found in Sheffield's Manor Fields Park on Thursday, May 13, amid reports he was fatally stabbed.

Knife attacks have also been carried out in the Greenhill; Tinsley Green; Heeley areas of the city, as well as on The Moor in the city centre, in recent weeks.

The South Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit (SYVRU) has installed three permanent amnesty bins in community locations on Wolseley Road in Sharrow; at the Devonshire Green Recycling Centre in Sheffield city centre, and on Birley Moor Road in Frecheville.

Graham Jones, head of the SYVRU, said ‘tackling crime and violence is a priority’ for the Unit, and the bins have been installed as part of work to ‘reduce the availability of knives and harmful use in our county’.

He added: “These provide an opportunity for people to anonymously drop off knives, taking them off the streets and ensuring that they are not used in a violent way.

“Alongside this work, the VRU is taking a long-term approach to this issue; our ambition is to bring about changes to the social attitudes which can lead to people carrying knives, to make a lasting difference in preventing and reducing violence in South Yorkshire.”