A man was arrested today after police caught him with a samurai sword near Wisbech town centre.

“We were called at 9.19am today (October 26) to reports of a man with a knife in Falcon Road, Wisbech,” said a police spokesman.

“Officers attended the scene and arrested a man in his 30s from Wisbech on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon.

“He is currently in custody at the Police Investigation Centre at Kings Lynn.”

The arrest happened just days after a week long knife amnesty in Cambridgeshire came to an end.

Samurai swords are usually hand made using traditional methods and are legal to buy and own.

No licence is required for purchase, the only requirement is that the purchaser is 18 years old or over.

However if carried in public it is an offence and carries a maximum penalty of four years in jail and a fine of up to £5,000.

There were 328 possession of weapons offences in Cambridgeshire in 2015/16, a 37.2 per cent increase on the previous year. However, the figure is in line with a rise in offences across the country and remains below both the national and regional averages.

It is illegal to:

- sell a knife of any kind to anyone under 18 years old.

- carry a knife in public without good reason - unless it’s a knife with a folding blade 3 inches long (7.62 cm) or less, eg a Swiss Army knife

- carry, buy or sell any type of banned knife

- use any knife in a threatening way (even a legal knife, such as a Swiss Army knife)

Inspector Mark Rogers said: “The figures for crimes involving offensive weapons remain low and you are very unlikely to be a victim of knife crime, however the rise in incidents is concerning.

Anyone who knows someone who carries a knife can report it anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visiting https://crimestoppers-uk.org/.