Brixton police station knife amnesty bin closed after found ‘overflowing’ with blades

A knife amnesty bin outside Brixton police station has been closed down after being found “overflowing” with deadly blades.

The state of the deposit bin in Lambeth has caused outrage among fearful local residents.

Footage online shows a man putting his hand into the box and grabbing two huge knives, one black and yellow blade and another orange one.

Now the box has been emptied and is covered up with a flimsy notice saying “do not use”.

The police station is just a few hundred yards from where 23-year-old Shane Jerome was stabbed to death while filming a music video in July.

Angry local residents told of their shock that the anyone could get weapons out of the bin so easily - with St Helen’s Roman Catholic Primary School being just yards away.

They questioned whether the “amnesty” bin was creating more harm than it solves.

Cynthia Reed, 60, an operations manager who lives in Brixton, said: “The bin being open makes me feel unsafe - I feel unsafe enough around here as it is.

“It should definitely be manned, and if it can’t be then it should be removed altogether. People should not be carrying knives in the way they are.’’

Samantha Brown, 34, a mental health support worker who lives in nearby Loughborough Junction, said: “It makes me worry - anyone could take a knife out of there and harm others with it.

“It should be more secure, but if it was manned it might be self-defeating.”

Letitia Miah, 21, a bar attendant from Brixton, said: “It is scary and makes me feel unsafe because we live so near it.

“It is not a good idea at all. If it was locked at night that may improve things but if that does not work it should be removed.”

Knife amnesty bins were designed to cut crime by giving law-abiding citizens and criminals a way to get rid of their lethal weapons anonymously, without fear of being arrested.

A Met Police spokesman said: “We are aware we had a large number of knives in our knife bins.

“These bins have now been emptied and we are reviewing their management.”

He added: “Our two bins - at Brixton and Walworth - provide a safe way for people to dispose of knives they have, or have found, and are an important part of our strategy to tackle violent crime.”