Sword seized on city street

POLICE have seized what looks like a large sword from a man on the streets of Coventry.

The terrifying weapon was seized in Canley by the West Midlands Police Force Support Unit in Coventry.

The man was arrested. Officers posted a photo of the blade on Twitter and said: “It’s beggars belief what some people think is normal to run around the Streets with.

“Male arrested in the Canley area of Coventry.”

It’s not the first time a blade like this has been found in the city.

Officers patrolling around St Michaels last September found a sword hidden near Coventry Transport Museum.

In the same month, a sword hidden inside a walking stick was handed in during a weapon amnesty in Nuneaton. Knife crime in the city Coventry has seen several high-profile knife attacks in recent months, including the fatal stabbings of The Specials’ Neville Staple’s grandson Fidel Glasgow, 16-year-old Jaydon James and 27-year-old Daniel Kennell.

The latest incident saw a 17-year-old suffer a stab wound to the hip at Gallagher Retail Park on February 7.

Luckily his injuries were not thought to be serious.

So far in 2019 there have been at least four stabbings in Coventry as well as three incidents involving gunshots, a mass fight and violent robberies.

Watch: Chf Supt Mike O’Hara speaks about tackling violent crime in Coventry

Of course, not everyone who carries a knife is set to pull it out and attack someone.

A number of people go through Coventry’s courts having been charged with the offence of possession of an article with a blade or point - possession of a knife or similar item in layman’s terms.

A recent case saw a 25-year-old man jailed for six months for having a large kitchen knife on him at the Coventry Transport Museum.

Later this year, a 27ft sculpture made out of 100,000 surrendered knives will be coming to Coventry as a stark reminder of the danger of carrying a knife.

The interactive map below shows the locations of recent stabbings in the city

City centre officers could soon get even more powers to move tackle rising gang and knife violence thanks to a new Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).

The PSPO has been proposed by Coventry City Council and a six-week consultation period has now been agreed.

The powers would allow police to move on groups of two or more who are behaving in an anti-social manner.