Deadly haul from our streets

THESE are just some of the terrifying arsenal of weapons being carried around the streets of Britain.

The two huge knives on the left were seized from a gang on an estate in Lambeth, south London, on Tuesday after a member of the public rang police to say that they were acting suspiciously.

And the axe was confiscated from a 14-year-old boy, who was spotted walking around the streets of Kilburn in north-west London with it tucked in the waistband of his trousers last Saturday. They are part of a haul including machetes recovered by police in a single week and are a graphic illustration of the knife crime epidemic.

It comes after shocking figures were published last week showing that knife crime is at the highest level since comparable records began.

Police recorded 39,598 offences involving a knife in England and Wales in 2017. This is more than 100 a day and a 22 per cent increase on 2016, according to the figures.