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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Kit Vickery

Two saws found in park after weapons search

Police have found two saws in a weapon's sweep of a park in Oldham.

Officers from the Werneth Neighbourhood Policing Team were in Werneth Park yesterday, April 28.

They set up a knife arch, asking people to walk through the structure to make sure no one was carrying a weapon into the public space.

The large metal detectors, much like the ones used at airports, are often used at events or during operations to identify people carrying weapons.

If the detector beeps after someone has walked through it, hand-held metal detectors can be used by officers to get a closer examination.

Police will often stop people actively avoiding the arch for a weapon search.

Along with the arches, officers also did weapon sweeps in the park area.

Two saws were discovered in some bushes, and both have now been seized.

The team posted pictures of their work on the GMP Oldham Central Facebook page.

A post which accompanied the pictures read: "The Werneth Neighbourhood Team have been taking part in the Op Sceptre week of action.

"Yesterday they visited Werneth Park where they deployed the knife arches and also conducted weapon sweeps in and around the park.

Officers near the knife arch set up in Werneth Park on Wednesday, April 28 (Greater Manchester Police)

"They found two saws in some bushes, which have now been removed."

Operation Sceptre is an anti-knife crime campaign running across the country, which is hoping to take bladed weapons off the street and reduce the number of victims of knife crime.

Officers across Greater Manchester have been working to raise awareness of the severity of carrying knives, and remove weapons from the streets.

There are 13 permanent knife amnesty bins across the region, with at least one in each borough.

Knives can be dropped off anonymously at each bin, which is situated in a police station.

Visit the GMP website to find your nearest bin.

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