A police sergeant has said that Castle Point does not have a “worrying problem” with knife possession after a team didn’t find any blades stashed in bushes.

Sgt Mark McQuade, from the community policing team, said he is confident there is not a knife problem on Canvey and neighbouring towns after a team of officers, council representatives and volunteers carried out a weapons sweep in the fields and bushes.

He said: “We didn’t recover any bladed items, so it has actually given me confidence that we don’t have a really worrying problem with possession of knives or bladed items in this area, although we can’t say that we are untouched by knife-related incidents.

“Weapons sweeps are an important preventative measure in the context of knife-related crime.”

The weapons sweep was undertaken as part of the national campaign, Operation Sceptre, led by the Metropolitan Police, to crack down on the handling and access of knives.

During this week’s campaign, police have also had underage volunteers enter shops to buy knives over the counter.

Although 90 per cent of Basildon shops surveyed on Monday did not sell the youths a weapon, The Range in Northlands Pavement, Pitsea, received an official warning from Essex Police after a weapon was sold to one of the underage volunteers.

A police spokesman said: “An official warning has been issued to The Range shop in Basildon, which sold the knife to an underage volunteer.

“A further test purchase operation will be carried out to ensure compliance, and advice been given that the shop needs a more robust approach to its sale of bladed items.”

Officers from across Essex have been out on the streets speaking with residents in Southend, Basildon and on Canvey.