70 arrests for knives and violent crime including in Dudley, Wolverhampton and Walsall

The action by the force's Guardian Taskforce aimed to drive down knife crime and youth violence by making dozens of arrests and seizing weapons and drugs across the region during February. During the month officers carried out patrols right across the patch, including in Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall boroughs and Wolverhampton.

While patrolling, there were 367 stop searches which led to 60 weapons including knives being confiscated.

In the Black Country officers made 39 arrests, in Birmingham 28 arrests and 17 in Coventry and Solihull.

Inspector Colin Gallier, from the Guardian Taskforce, said: "Our teams are continuing to work incredibly hard to take knives and offensive weapons off the streets. Every knife seized is potentially a life saved. And these knives are the reason why we need to continue to carry out stop and searches.

"We work alongside other teams in local policing areas to take action and also warn against the risks of carrying a weapon. This remains ongoing as we continue our work to reduce incidents.”