An official ban on zombie-style knives and machetes has come into force - making it illegal to own the dangerous and offensive weapons. 

As of Tuesday, September 24, the items are included on a list of already banned dangerous items, which include zombie knives, butterfly knives, Samurai swords and push daggers.

Anyone caught with a zombie-style knife or machete now faces time behind bars.

The maximum penalty for the importation, manufacturing, possession and sale of these newly proscribed weapons will also be increased from six months to two years, as will the maximum penalty for sales to under-18s.

This follows a month-long Government surrender scheme, which allowed people to hand in their weapons safely and legally ahead of the ban.  

The scheme - which ran for four weeks - allowed people to hand in knives to police stations in return for an application for compensation, without repercussions for surrendering them. 

People were also able to hand in knives not meeting eligibility for the compensation scheme anonymously, to ensure that weapons were disposed of safely.

Cleveland Police’s lead on knife crime, Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Hodgson, said: “Anything that reduces the availability of knives will help prevent knife crime.

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“Most incidents involving a knife or a bladed weapon are not planned, but carrying a knife or a bladed weapon increases the likelihood of serious violence.

"I welcome any ban that reduces the availability of knives so that we can reduce the serious harm caused by knives and bladed weapons in Cleveland.

“There are permanent knife surrender bins at all of our main stations – Middlesbrough, Stockton, Redcar and Hartlepool – and we encourage people to hand in bladed weapons anonymously so that they are removed from the streets of Teesside.”