COUNCIL chiefs installed a knife bin near Wimbledon just days before this year’s Championships kicked off.
The amnesty box – where people can surrender their weapons – was instated at a church last week.
Wimbledon is taking place between June 30 and July 13[/caption]
All blades, including soon-to-be-banned ninja swords, can be handed in at the secure bin on Pollards Hill.
It will be emptied by specialist organisation Words4Weapons.
Councillor Edith Macauely MBE, the London Borough of Merton’s Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety, said she welcomed the move as “a meaningful step towards reducing violence and promoting safety” in the area.
She added: “Knife crime has devastating effects for everyone involved – the victims, the perpetrators and the community as a whole.
“Our message must go out loud and clear: you never make yourself safer by carrying a knife.
“This new amnesty bin gives anyone who has made the error of acquiring a dangerous weapon the chance to correct their mistake and make themselves safer with no questions asked.”
The amnesty box is part of a Home Office-funded scheme to tackle knife crime in the UK.
Thirty seven other knife surrender bins have been installed across London and other violence hotspots.
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It comes after Wimbledon star Yulia Putintseva paused her first-round match on Monday over fears a “crazy” fan had a knife courtside.
The world No33 – who lost in 45 minutes without winning a game – reported the spectator to the umpire.
Fans said the man had been attempting to talk to the Russian-born ace, who plays for Kazakhstan, at the start of her clash with American Amanda Anisimova on Court 15.
Putintseva was heard saying: “Can you take him out because maybe he has a knife? I am not going to continue playing until he leaves. These people are dangerous, they are crazy.”
The chair umpire consulted security and the game was resumed.
It is unclear if any action was taken against the spectator, but it is understood he was not carrying a knife and would have been subject to a search for weapons when he entered the grounds.
When asked about the incident on Tuesday, Wimbledon head of operations Michelle Dite told SunSport: “We’ve been very upfront about this, that if the players have got any concerns, if they feel that there’s something that doesn’t feel quite right, they absolutely should bring it to light. We would rather know about these things.”
She added: “One of the players had some concerns, they went and spoke to the umpire, we checked it all out with security.”
Wimbledon bosses played down the incident, including Putintseva’s “knife” remark.
A spokesman insisted: “Security was in the area. The issue was dealt with.”
