Merseyside Police are using a new hands on approach to detecting crime and tackling anti-social behaviour.

Officers in St Helens are piloting metal detector gloves, which enable them to scan people for for weapons using their fingertips or the palms of their hands.

The stab-proof, battery-operated gloves are made of Kevlar. If they detect any metal being carried by a suspect, the glove vibrates at the wrist.

Inspector Julie Ellison from the Town Centre Neighbourhood said: “We are constantly looking at using new technology to detect weapons and take them off the streets of St Helens. It’s important we look at innovative ways of tackling violence, and we are confident that these gloves will allow officers to search people safely and efficiently.

“The feedback from officers who have been using the gloves in training is positive and we look forward to seeing how they perform on the street over the forthcoming weeks.”

Officers are now using the gloves as part of a month-long enforcement phase of the STAND initiative (St Helens Against Night-Time Disorder). STAND is a long-running initiative combining high visibility policing, enforcement and education. Patrols provide a visible deterrent and reassuring presence to residents, visitors and licensees alike.

The gloves were used on Monday (6 November) by Dedicated Neighbourhood Officers in Newton-le-Willows, who stop searched a woman on Market Street. The gloves detected a metal steri-cup containing brown powder, which is believed to be heroin, and a number of syringes and other drug paraphenalia were also found in the 18-year-old's pockets.

Samantha Roberts of Blake Close, Wigan, was arrested and subsequently charged with possession of a Class A drug. A car parked nearby was also seized and the woman was further charged with driving a motor vehicle without a driving licence and without insurance. She has been bailed to appear before St Helens Magistrates on Friday, 10 November.