Large knife found in river near Tanner's Brook Primary School

The blade, believed to be a kitchen knife, was seen in Tanner’s Brook near Tanner's Brook Primary School on Monday morning.

A concerned mother was walking her son to school along Elmes Drive when the knife caught her eye.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, immediately reported it to the police.

A large knife was spotted in Tanner's Brook river near a primary school in Southampton on Monday (Image: Kiara Batten)

She said: “Crime is increasing and knife crime is incredibly worrying.

“I purposefully did not point out the knife to my son, and just walked him into school as normal, but took photos and called the police immediately as I walked back home.

“We all know about knife crime, but the thought that someone was out there carrying such a huge, bladed weapon on their person is terrifying.

“There is no doubt the sort of damage such a weapon would do to a person, and it makes me shudder to think about what it may have been used for, or what it was intended to be used for.”

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She added: “I can only hope that the police take this seriously.

“It’s a scary world to be bringing our children up in, I wish it was safer, I wish there was more that we could do to keep them safe.”

Hampshire Constabulary confirmed the matter was reported to them.

A spokesperson said: “This was reported to us as being seen and an officer retrieved it from the water within an hour while out on patrol.”