Campaigner Holly Watson and Chief Constable Simon Ash with Radio Suffolk presenter Mark Murphy

A TEENAGER who inspired Suffolk’s year-long “Bin a Blade” knife amnesty has seen more than 6,000 knives handed in during the campaign destroyed.

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Yesterday the blades, collected from special bins placed outside police stations across the county, were taken to Sackers Recycling, in Great Blakenham, and dropped into a shredder.

Anti-knife campaigner Holly Watson, whose brother Lewis, 23, was fatally stabbed in Sudbury in September 2009, was at the controls.

As 19-year-old Holly entered the control room to operate the shredder – which is normally used to crush cars – she said the sight of more than a tonne of blades made her “feel sick”.

She added: “I never thought there would be so many knives at the end of the amnesty. This is a big milestone and it’s nice to know that the knives can no longer be used to harm anyone.”

Local inventor and designer Rex Garrod will use some of the crushed blades to create an award that will link back to the campaign.

Suffolk’s Chief Constable Simon Ash said the total of 6,125 blades handed in equated to about 20 knives a day.

Although the amnesty is officially over, because it was deemed a success, static bins will remain in place so people can continue to dispose of knives in a safe manner.

Suffolk police intend to build on the amnesty’s success by turning it into an education campaign, including a film.