Two knives were taken by police this afternoon (October 20) after a surprise raid in a block of flats.

Officers from Essex Police used a battering ram to smash open the door at the flat in Trotwood, Chigwell, in the Limes Farm estate, at about 2pm.

The plain-clothes officers questioned two men inside and thoroughly searched the flat for about half an hour.

After the raid, witnessed by the Epping Forest Guardian, one large knife and a smaller blade were taken away by the officers.

There was no evidence of crimes being committed and no arrests were made.

The raid was carried out as part of Operation Sceptre, a week-long campaign aimed at tackling knife crime in Essex.