Legal owners of rifles, zombie knives and knuckledusters can claim up to £5,100 compensation by handing them in to police
Legal owners of dangerous weapons including rifles, zombie knives and knuckledusters are being offered up to £5,100 compensation to hand them in to police.
Items soon to be outlawed when the Offensive Weapons Act comes into force next year can be surrendered under a three-month Government scheme in England and Wales launched on Thursday.
It was already illegal to possess a knife or offensive weapon in public, but the new law makes it unlawful to possess certain rapid firing rifles, specific types of knives and other offensive weapons in private.
The list includes zombie knives, cyclone knives, knuckledusters, death star knives, flick knives, gravity knives, batons, disguised knives, push daggers and other offensive weapons.
Owners of dangerous weapons soon to be outlawed are being offered compensation to surrender them to police. Knuckledusters will be valued at £2, zombie knife at £10, rifles up to £5,105
Lawful owners of these weapons can claim compensation for handing them in to police if the total value of the claim is more than £30.
A form available on the Government's website values a knuckleduster at £2, a zombie knife at £10, a blowpipe at £14 and a lever release .308 rifle at £5,105.
National Police Chiefs' Council lead on knife crime, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham McNulty, said: 'Tackling knife crime and reducing violence is a top priority for policing.
'The surrender scheme will enable us to remove dangerous weapons off the streets and assist in keeping our communities safe.
'Every weapon removed is possibly a life saved and I urge people to please help us make our streets safer.'
It will be unlawful to posses these items, even in private, when the Offensive Weapons Act comes into force next year. Pictured: Two axes that were found during a police raid of a garden shed in Merseyside last year
The Offensive Weapons Act was introduced by the Government in response to a spike in serious violence, including knife crime.
As well as prohibiting the possession of dangerous weapons in private, it also made it a criminal offence to sell bladed products online without verifying the buyer was aged over 18.
Crime and policing minister Kit Malthouse said: 'I am committed to ensuring our streets are safe from the scourge of violent crime.
'We are prohibiting ownership of dangerous weapons which have a high potential for causing harm - every item surrendered is one which can no longer fall into the hands of criminals.
'The Government's top priority will always be keeping the public safe and we are ensuring that our laws and police powers deliver on these commitments.'