Emergency stop and search powers for the police need to be introduced across the country in order to stem the knife crime epidemic, a senior police leader has warned.

Section 60 powers, which allow frontline officers to search suspects without grounds, have already seen scores of deadly weapons taken off the streets of Birmingham since being introduced last week.

West Midlands Police gave the green light for the controversial measure following the knife murders of three teenagers in just 11 days.

Now following another deadly weekend, which saw two 17-year-olds stabbed to death in Manchester and Birmingham, police leaders are calling for the measures to be rolled out nationally.

Richard Cooke, the chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation, said officers had been absent from the streets for too long and this had encouraged a "sense of licence" among people to carry knives.

He said the tangible success of the use of Section 60 over the past week was proof of how effective a tactic it was in saving people's lives.