Two ‘zombie’ knives found near a children’s playground in Birmingham by West Midlands Police

Two life-threatening ‘zombie’ knives have been found from near a children’s playground in Birmingham - as locals call for the knives to be banned.

West Midlands Police found the weapons during an open area search in a residential street in Longbridge. Officers discovered the knives in bushes near to a children’s playground - where anyone, inclucing youngsters, could have picked them up.

The force said: “Officers have recovered two large ‘zombie knives’ during an area search tonight. Each seizure is one less life threatened. An investigation will now follow to identify who these knives belonged to.”

Longbridge Neighbourhood Watch reacted to the tweet saying: “Great news in finding these knives, as you say that’s two more off the streets. These knives really should be banned.” A concerned citizen added: “This is not good, thank God they are off our street.”

Knife crime in West Midlands

The knives were found months after the government pledged to protect youngsters from knife crime - as knife and offensive weapons convictions among under-18s increased in England and Wales.

Previously, ONS data showed that West Midlands Police Force recorded the highest rate of knife crime in England. There were 156 offences involving a knife per 100,000 population in 2020/21. This is a 41% increase on a rate of 118 recorded in 2019/20.

Meanwhile Ministry of Justice data shows that in the year ending March 2021, there were 18,553 disposals given for possession of a knife or offensive weapon. Among those, juveniles (aged 10-17) were the offenders in 19% of cases.