Give up ninja swords before ban, mother pleads

A mother whose teenage son was murdered with a ninja sword is calling for the weapons to be surrendered before a ban comes into force, so that "children can walk home without fear".

A weapon-surrender scheme is being launched for the blades, ahead of the ban from 1 August.

After that date it will be illegal to possess, sell, make or import ninja swords, as part of anti-knife crime measures introduced under Ronan's Law.

The legislative change is named after 16-year-old Ronan Kanda, who was yards away from his Wolverhampton home when he was murdered with a ninja sword in 2022 in a case of mistaken identity.

His family and mother Pooja have been campaigning for the ban since he died, as he made his way home after buying a PlayStation controller from a friend.

"It has been three years since Ronan's life was tragically taken as a result of the wounds inflicted by a ninja sword," Ms Kanda said.

"Since then, we have relentlessly campaigned for ninja swords to be taken off the streets as they have no place in society.

"The government has now introduced a much-needed ban on ninja swords and we encourage those in possession to surrender them to make the community a safer place where children can walk home without fear."

As part of the government's weapon-surrender scheme, anti-knife crime campaigner Faron Paul, of FazAmnesty, will tour London, the West Midlands and Greater Manchester in an "amnesty van" to help get the blades off the streets.

Mr Paul added: "By taking this service directly into communities, I hope we can reach more individuals, encourage positive decisions and help reduce the number of harmful items on our streets."

The Home Office is also funding 37 new surrender bins, made by charity Word 4 Weapons, across the same locations, where 45% of knife crime in England and Wales takes place.

Anyone handing in a ninja sword can also claim compensation of £5 - the wholesale price of the weapon - if they return it to a designated police station.

Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: "The launch of today's scheme is a result of months of collaborative working with the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime and I'm optimistic about what we can achieve together over the next month and then the years to come as part of our plan for change.

"This scheme is just one part of addressing knife crime.

"We will not stop listening to those who are directly working with those impacted by this crime."

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