A knife amnesty bin has been set up to give people a safe and anonymous way to hand in potentially lethal weapons.

The new bin, installed outside the Methodist Church, in Lockett Road, Wealdstone, was commissioned by the Harrow Safer Neighbourhood Board.

The board says it is positioned in a safe location away from surveillance cameras, to encourage people from across the borough to dispose of knives.

Board member and church minister Toks Odofin, said: “Carrying a knife is dangerous and to make installing this bin our first action as a board shows our clear intention to take these off the street.

“Knives blight lives and carrying one comes with severe consequences. A lot of time knives are carried because of bravado, but it can go horribly wrong very quickly.

“These bins are a safe and anonymous way of taking knives off the street where they can do no further harm.”

The £3,500 bin was paid for by the neighbourhood board. It will be emptied regularly and any knives will be melted down and used to create memorials for the victims of crime.

A Harrow Council spokesman said: “Harrow has one of the lowest crime rates across London and incidents of knife crime are rare.

“However, we have seen a number of worrying incidents of knife crime in the area in recent weeks.

“The funding provided by the Harrow Safer Neighbourhood Board to purchase this bin will prove useful in taking dangerous weapons off the streets preventing their use.”

Safer neighbourhood boards were introduced by the Mayor of London last year, to hold borough policing across the capital to account.

Harrow’s board was set up by Harrow Borough Council in partnership with Harrow police and can include up to 12 members of the public, two councillors and two representatives from youth parliament.

Harrow Safer Neighbourhood Board has met twice and its next meeting will take place in public on January 26, from 6.30pm, at Harrow Council civic centre, in Station Road.