STORY BY HENRY WILLIAMS
A Barnsley business owner who has a knife amnesty bin outside his shop has collected over 140 knives in the last six months.
Mitchell Cavill, the owner of Vape Store and Bargains Galore on Regent Street South, started the scheme four years ago.
There are currently five bins in Sheffield and one in Barnsley, with the funds having just been secured for one in Rotherham and another for Sheffield.
Mr Cavill said his aim is for there to be one in every village as “not everyone will be able to travel.”
Bins cost around £600 each.
“If I can prevent one person from getting stabbed, that’s fine by me,” he said.
Mr Cavill said that concerns about his children getting older and going out later led him to start the scheme.
He says that he worries as his daughter is 12, coming up to 13, and for a lot of teenagers it’s become a point of who has got the biggest knife.
He adds that he knew something had to change when he witnessed knife crime first-hand himself.
There have been three separate knife crime incidents in Barnsley over the last 18 months, whilst one occurred in Sheffield city centre only three months ago.
The scheme is a no questions asked policy, “only time there’s questions asked is if they’re covered in blood.” Mr Cavill said
He added that he once had a man attempt to put a machete in the bin, who said that his son had brought it home.
Once weapons go in the bin they are inaccessible, as the bins are locked and chained.
Mr Cavill said that it’s better for the weapons to be in the bin than just chucked in a hedge, “It could end up in the wrong hands.”
If you are concerned about anyone’s safety, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
