Manchester Evening News

Police find stash of weapons hidden in Piccadilly Gardens

KNIVES, HAMMERS AND BARS AMONG TERRIFYING HAUL

- By SAM YARWOOD sam.yarwood@trinitymir­ror.com @samyarwood­89

THIS is the shocking stash of weapons found hidden in Piccadilly Gardens.

A hunting knife, hammers and a screwdrive­r were among the items discovered by police at the landmark city centre spot yesterday.

They were found in places such as planters and under piles of rubbish.

Four officers from GMP Specials Oldham and Manchester spent two hours in the Gardens carrying out a ‘weapons sweep.’

The tactic sees police search public places for items that could harm people. They are then seized and disposed of.

GMP City Centre tweeted a photo of the startling haul, saying: “Colleagues from @GMPSpecial­s Manchester and Oldham in Piccadilly Gardens today doing a weapons sweep this is what they found.

“Help us keep you safe – if you have info on who is carrying these types of weapons or where they may be stored please call us or report via crimestopp­ers Insp M.”

City centre Inspector Jon Middleton also shared photos of where some of the weapons were found. A large hunting knife was uncovered in a pile of rubbish and a second blade was discovered hidden behind wooden planks.

The exact locations have not been revealed by the officers.

Insp Middleton told the M.E.N.: “The weapons sweep is something officers have been doing up in Oldham.

“They go out and they search public places such as planters, flower beds, phone boxes, looking for and seizing any discarded items that may be used as weapons.

“The purpose of the post on Twitter was not to scare people.

“Violent incidents and knife crime in the city centre are rare but obviously I want to reassure people that we are working to prevent incidents from happening, and this is one of the tactics that we employ.”

City centre spokesman Coun Pat Karney said he thinks the sweep tactic is a brilliant idea and says he hopes to see similar searches carried out regularly.

He added: “I was surprised but pleased that these instrument­s were found and taken off the streets. I think it’s a brilliant idea and I will work with the police to make sure that searches are being carried out in the city centre on a regular basis.”

 ??  ?? Weapons recovered during the operation
Weapons recovered during the operation
 ??  ?? A police officer finds a knife in undergrowt­h at Piccadilly Gardens
A police officer finds a knife in undergrowt­h at Piccadilly Gardens

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom