AN airport-style metal detector has been used at Bolton train station for the first time as part of a crackdown on knife crime on the railways.

Transport police asked commuters to walk through the scanner during rush hour yesterday and be frisked so they could check for knives and other weapons.

Two knives were recovered during seven-hour Operation Shield and two people arrested. Sgt Peter Kooper, of British Transport Police, said: "The operation has been a success.

"Any knives we recover cannot be used in crime and we are sending out a clear message to people who carry knives that they face arrest and prosecution.

"We do not have the powers to force people go through the scanner, but we found that the majority are very compliant.

"This is a visible deterrent to people carrying weapons on the railways and a way of reassuring the public that we take this type of crime very seriously and are keen to cut the number of knife-related offences."

The scanner was located on a gangway which leads in to the main foyer of Bolton railway station, close to the ticket office.

Commuters leaving the station, and a small number of people entering the station, were asked to walk through the scanner. Anybody who triggered an alarm was scanned with a hand-held wand which detects metal objects concealed in pockets.

Sgt Kooper said people between 15 and 35 years of age had been targeted in the operation.

He added: "We know the people who are most likely to be carrying knives are those between the ages of 15 and 35, male and female, and we have also asked other individuals to walk through the scanner."

Of the two people arrested yesterday, one was held for possession of a knife and possession of cannabis. He was cautioned and released.

The second person, a male, was arrested and charged with possessing a blade. He will appear at Bolton magistrates court today.

Operation Shield was launched across the North-west in May and has also seen metal detectors used at stations in Manchester, Liverpool and Altrincham.

The operation forms part of national police crackdown on blades which saw a knife amnesty held across Britain in June and July.

A total of 250 weapons were surrendered to police in Bolton during the campaign.

Cesar Sousa, aged 25, a Portugese student at the University of Bolton, said: "It's a good idea to make travelling on the railways safer. I don't mind being asked to go through the scanner.

"The only problem is that the police can't make people go through the detector, so anybody who is carrying a knife can walk away."

David Loughran, a 32-year-old engineer from Newby Road, Breightmet, said: "To some people it will look heavy handed but if it makes the railways a bit safer, I'm all for it."