THIRTY buses in south Essex will now feature posters warning people about the dangers of carrying a knife.

Arriva have teamed up with Essex Police and knife crime charity Only Cowards Carry to spread the anti-knife crime message.

The buses carrying the message all leave Southend and end up in Benfleet, travelling across various routes through Rochford, Eastwood, Leigh and Thundersley.

Sgt Mark McQuade, from the Castle Point and Rochford community policing team, hopes the signs will deter teenagers from carrying the weapons and make parents stand up and take action.

He said: “The posters have lots of knife crime statistics to give people the idea of how much of a problem carrying a knife can be.

“We want to put up a bit of awareness, targeting youths but also targeting parents so that they can take control of their children.

“You may also have people reading the signs which may make them more cautious and vigilant of their surroundings.

“We want to reduce the potential of becoming a victim.”

The funding for the posters – about £250 – came from Roger Hirst, Essex’s police and crime commissioner, after he was approached by the community safety partnership for Castle Point and Rochford.

Anthony Comber, general manager for Arriva’s Southend network, said: “We are very keen to help spread anti-crime messages, so we are delighted to be working with Essex Police to promote the knife amnesty. Hopefully this is just the beginning of the relationship and we will be able to help with many more campaigns in the future.

“Around 500,000 people use our services every month, so placing posters on the buses is a great way to engage with young people.”

It is understood that if the initiative is a success then it could be rolled out across other parts of Essex, including Basildon.

People are being urged to anonymously dump their knives in knife amnesty bins in both Southend and Pitsea. The bin outside Southend police station, in Victoria Avenue, was installed by anti-weapons charity Only Cowards Carry in July following a spate of stabbings in the town.

It was emptied after four months by officers and charity founder Caroline Shearer, and 311 weapons including a deadly blade disguised as a gun, were collected.

The knife amnesty bin outside Chalvedon shops, in Chalvedon Square, Pitsea, was installed after dad-of-one Darren Kelly was stabbed to death in Caister Drive, Pitsea, in October 2015.

Chris Carroll, 20, of Pevensey Close, Pitsea, was jailed for life and will serve a minimum 21-year prison sentence.

Anyone with information about knife crime in south Essex can call Essex Police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.