This is the huge sword and set of nunchucks that police seized from a 16-year-old boy in Piccadilly Gardens.

The shocking find was made by plain-clothed officers out on patrol in the city centre as part of Operation Valiant on Sunday - an intervention targeting robbery offenders.

A 16-year-old male was stopped and found to be carrying a huge sword with a black handle and a nasty-looking sharp edge.

He was also carrying a set of nunchucks, or martial arts 'fighting sticks', which are considered to be an offensive weapon.

The teenager was arrested at the scene.

At first officers believed that the male may have been heading towards the Gay Village, where thousands of people were out celebrating Manchester Pride .


In a tweet on the GMP City Centre page, a police spokesperson said: "OP Valiant patrols out in the city today in plain clothes for Manchester Pride targeting robbery offenders.

"Within 30 mins of being out we stopped a male heading towards the village and found a sword and a set of nunchucks on him!

"Enjoy your night out but please stay in groups."

But Inspector Jon Middleton later confirmed that the boy wasn't believed to be heading to any Pride events.

He tweeted: "I've just spoken to the team that made this great arrest.

Police made the shocking discovery in Piccadilly Gardens

"It was a 16-year-old boy in Piccadilly Gardens and at this stage, we don't believe he was heading to the Village or any Pride events."

A number of people responded to the shocking discovery, with many praising the force's efforts.

Stephanie said: "Thank god you found and stopped him. There could have been a tragic attack."

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Kaz tweeted: "Well done. Absolutely agree with stop and search. Keep up the great work in such hard times."

JG added: "Good to hear that because that's all we need is some lunatic loose in Pride and the Village causing trouble, finding him in the gardens is still worrying."