Metropolitan Police officers seized 288 knives across London in just one week as part of a national operation to target knife crime.

Last week, the force launched Op Sceptre - the weeklong scheme where officers used different tactics to target knife crime.

This included increased patrol in violence hotspots and warrants for those known to carry knives and weapon sweeps.

1,578 weapon sweeps were carried out across London, along with 51 warrants.

792 people were arrested.

British Transport Police installed knife arches at transport hubs to deter people from carrying weapons on trains and tubes Met Special Constables and Police Cadets volunteered to visit 210 different businesses to educate them and ensure they were not selling knives irresponsibly.

There was also a focus on education, diversion and prevention with officers engaging with young people and communities.

In total there were 203 school presentations and engagements were carried out involving 15,015 young people.

Chief Inspector Rob Ranstead, who led the operation, said: “Our mission is to bear down on violence and make communities safer across London – it’s our priority.

“Operation Sceptre is an intensification of the work we already do every single day and officers will not stop doing everything they can to target those carrying weapons on our streets.

“Policing alone can’t solve violent crime and I am grateful to all those partners and community members who worked alongside us during this activity and joined our efforts.”

Have you got a story for us? You can contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletters to get updates sent straight to your inbox.