ALMOST 400 knives and weapons have been handed in to police in the county as part of a national amnesty.

North Yorkshire Police said yesterday that 386 weapons have been given up so far.

Officers have described the figures as a promising start.

Items handed in include samurai swords, screwdrivers, meat hooks, ornamental daggers, meat cleavers and a bayonet.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: "We feel that the public are responding very positively to the recent much publicised horrific stabbings across the country.

"People are making their own contribution to driving down knife attacks and knife carrying."

The five-week knife and firearms amnesty was launched on May 24. It is an opportunity for people to dispose of weapons safely by handing them in at police stations without fear of prosecution, provided they have not been used in a crime.

People handing in knives are asked to wrap them in cardboard or thick paper and put them in bins in police stations.

A similar amnesty in North Yorkshire ten years ago led to 789 knives and 50 other weapons being handed in.

The police spokesman said: "The latest figures for North Yorkshire show that despite some efforts in the national media to pour scorn on the amnesty, people in North Yorkshire are showing a bit more sense and pragmatism.

"People are saying they do not care about the critics, they realise that this is somebody trying to do something to stop people being hurt or killed.

"There is no evidence that knives are a popular fashion accessory among young people in North Yorkshire. I think most young people in the county realise that being an impressive person depends more on who you are than what you carry."

Items handed in around the county include:

* Northallerton: Nine knives, one weapon, one sword;

* Stokesley: Ten knives, one 31in blade, one bayonet;

* Ripon: 32 knives;

* Pickering: One ornamental knife;

* Catterick Garrison: Four knives, a short samurai sword;

* Richmond: 11 knives;

* Harrogate: 84 knives and weapons;

* Scarborough: 23 knives, four weapons;

* Whitby: Eight knives, eight weapons;

* York: 13 knives, six weapons, three swords.