POLICE arrested seven people last week in a crackdown on knife crime.

Officers in Bolton detained six men and one woman, aged between 18 and 45 for offences relating to knives.

The arrests are part of Operation Sceptre, a national scheme put in place in response to a series of high-profiles stabbings.

As part of the nationwide effort, Greater Manchester Police ran their own operation calling for the public to ‘open your eyes to knives’, which included a series of social media posts showing knives hidden in plain sight.

It follows the death of Yousef Makki, 17, from Burnage, who died after being attacked in Hale Barns, near Altrincham, on Saturday, March 2.

Following the arrests, Karen Clappison, Bolton hub commander, said: “The action doesn’t stop here, going forward with partners we plan to continue to prevent and educate the community in relation to the effects of carrying knives.

“On behalf of GMP I wish to thank the community for their support and would like to encourage people to continue to phone Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”

GMP’s ‘open your eyes’ campaign saw officers post images of urban landscapes and parks in a bid to keep people watching for hidden knives. The scheme aimed to get people talking about knife crime enforcement and raise awareness for people’s concerns.

Launching the operation, GMP’s assistant chief constable Rob Potts said: “It’s a sad fact that people are not only carrying knives, but are now also hiding weapons in and around public places and that can be very worrying for members of the public.

“The more knives that are on the streets only leads to one outcome – more people getting hurt - and we are determined to act to stop these implements getting into the wrong hands."

Anyone with concerns about someone carrying or hiding a knife, or anyone that believes knives are being concealed in their community can call police on 101 or via Live Chat on the GMP website.