Arrests were made as police seized zombie knives and knuckledusters during a stop check on the M6.

Police stopped a red Volkswagen Polo at junction 17 of the motorway, near Congleton, at 11.40pm on Thursday, May 28, after ANPR enquiries uncovered that the vehicle had been linked to weapon offences.

During a subsequent search of the car, officers discovered several boxes containing zombie style knives, knuckledusters and other bladed weapons.

In total, more than 40 dangerous blades were found in the vehicle.

The occupants, a 19-year-old man and 18-year-old woman ,both from Birmingham, were both arrested on suspicion of possession of a bladed article in a public place and possessing offensive weapons for the purpose of sale.

Chief Inspector Joe McNally, Cheshire Constabulary's knife crime lead, said: "I'd like to the thank the quick-thinking officers who were on patrol in the area at the time and acted on instinct to pull over the vehicle, leading to this alarming discovery.

"The constabulary has recently just completed Operation Sceptre, a weeklong national campaign that tackles knife crime in our areas through proactive policing operations and deployments and community engagement - during this week, our officers recovered over 250 weapons from across Cheshire.

"As a result of this stop, a further 40 blades, a combination of zombie knives, machetes and a knuckleduster, are now safely in our possession.

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"These blades will soon be destroyed, permanently preventing possibility of them being used on our streets and falling into the wrong hands."

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The 19-year-old man has since been eliminated from the investigation.

Meanwhile, the 18-year-old woman has been released on conditional bail.