‘Terrifying weapon’ seized from man in Cuckfield

Mid Sussex Police said they were alerted by an informant who dialled 999 after spotting the man with the weapon on Friday evening (March 22). In a tweet, Mid Sussex Police said: “This terrifying weapon has been seized by officers from a male in Cuckfield this evening. “Great spot by our informant who dialled 999. “Use of stop and search powers resulted in the weapon being recovered before any harm was caused. “Offender to be dealt with robustly.” The incident came just days after Operation Sceptre, a campaign which saw officers talking to people about knives, concluded on March 17. Throughout the week-long campaign, 38 educational establishments were visited and approximately 5,600 young people were spoken to about the impact they felt knife crime had on their community, police said. Test purchases were also carried out across the whole county. Police cadets worked with officers and Trading Standards colleagues to try and buy a knife in shops when they were clearly under 18. Out of the 47 shops tested, 12 failed. Police said they were all given warnings and will be tested again. If they fail again, they will be named and either fined or prosecuted. Across the force knife amnesty bins were in place in police stations and knives were handed in and will now be destroyed. Assistant Chief Constable Nick May said: “Operation Sceptre gives us a good opportunity to talk about knife crime in an open and honest way, and it’s been good to hear about all the activity which took place during the week. “It was reassuring to hear about young people really getting involved in the conversation on knives and the impact it had on them. The week also gave us useful intelligence on why people carry knives and we are doing further on developing this information.” “However this isn’t just one week of action, these patrols and conversations are all part of everyday policing. We always have amnesty bins in police stations and you can always drop off your dangerous and unwanted blades. We will continue working with other agencies to take positive action when knife crimes occur, focusing on engagement and prevention.” If you need to talk to someone anonymously, Crimestoppers can be reached on 0800 555 111. As always, you can report crime online, or via 101. In an emergency, always call 999.