KNIFE crime has increased in Cumbria - despite two highly publicised amnesty events by the county's police force within the last year.

The latest figures, released by the Office for National Statistics, revealed that knife crime went up in the county in the past year from 147 to 168, up a total of 14 per cent.

It comes after Cumbria Police held week-long knife amnesty events last September and in March this year.

In September, a total of 113 potential weapons were handed in to the constabulary.

Blades handed over included a Samurai sword, meat cleavers, throwing stars, machetes and a dagger.

Then in March, it was revealed that 282 items had been handed in to the force.

During both events, people from across the county anonymously handed in their knives and other potential weapons to police stations in Barrow, Carlisle, Penrith, Kendal and Workington.

However Superintendent Mark Pannone, who led the two amnesty initiatives, has played down the recent statistics.

He told the News & Star: “We are fortunate to not have a knife crimes culture in Cumbria, and the number of recorded offences continues to be lower than in other areas of the UK.

“An increase in knife crime offences has been seen across all forces and Cumbria’s figures are in line with the national increase.

"A rise of 14 per cent may seem a lot, but this equates to only 21 more reported incidents than the previous year.

“We are certainly never complacent on this issue and we will continue to tackle knife crime within the county, including holding regular Knife surrenders which have previously seen blades taken out of our communities, out of the reach of people who could use them to cause harm.

“There is no justification for anyone to be carrying a knife on our streets.”

According to official figures, knife crime in England and Wales hit a record high in 2018/19 with a total of 43,516 offences, up eight per cent on the pervious year.

The statistics do not include Greater Manchester Police, which records data differently.

Barnardo's chief executive Javed Khan said: "It's unacceptable that the knife crime crisis continues unabated with offences at record levels.

"Children are not born with knives in their hands, knife crime is a symptom of a much bigger problem.

"Our frontline support services say vulnerable children and young people are being recruited and exploited by criminal gangs and forced to traffic drugs and carry knives.

"Urgent action must be taken so that future generations are not condemned to live in an endless spiral of violence."