Owners of killer 'zombie knives' urged to hand them in for £10

The owners of zombie knives and machetes will be paid at least £10 for each one they hand over to police.

The scheme aims to take lethal weapons off the streets after a spate of horrific deaths involving children, paving the way for tougher laws.

A Home Office document shows which weapons are eligible for cash from August 26.

They typically have blades at least eight inches long, a sharp point and include features such as a serrated edge or spikes.

Eligible weapons were labelled as a “Rambo-style knife” and a “zombie-style machete”.

Details - including which police stations will accept the weapons - can be found here.

Compensation for knives handed in will be available up to September 23, before new legislation banning the weapons come into effect the next day.

And a higher price may be paid if the owner can prove a weapon is worth more, such as producing a purchase receipt.

But the Home Office has admitted it only expects around 472 weapons to be handed over.

And the compensation paid out – expected to be about £14,000 – is dwarfed by the cost of administering the scheme – £301,000.

The laws coming into force next month will see possession of a so-called “zombie knife” or similar weapon carry a sentence of up to 51 weeks in prison.

It comes after the recent horrific deaths of three little girls who were attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in Southport.

Last year, Mikey Roynon, 16, died after being stabbed in the neck with a zombie knife at a house party in Bath. A 16-year-old was convicted of murder and two other boys, both 16, were convicted of manslaughter.

Patrick Green, chief executive of anti-knife crime charity the Ben Kinsella Trust, said: “Machetes and zombie knives have been used for too long as instruments of violence, causing terrible injuries and spreading fear. The impending ban will allow police to remove these weapons and those who carry them from our streets.

“This surrender scheme is a crucial first step. By offering compensation, it will encourage responsible owners to voluntary return of these lethal items before the ban comes into force.”

There were more than 51,000 serious offences involving the use of a knife or sharp instrument, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, and sexual assault, across England and Wales in the year to April.

The figure has nearly doubled in 10 years from the 28,000 offences that involved a blade in the 12 months to the end of March 2014.

And last year there were 27,500 recorded offences of possessing a knife.