KNIVES, tools, and alcohol were amongst almost 1,100 items confiscated by Gwent court staff over the past two years.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show 1,090 items were taken from people entering Gwent’s four magistrates courts, two county courts, Newport Crown Court and Blackwood Civil and Family Court from January 2009 to March 2011.

These included 177 knives - nine of which had blades bigger than three inches, 91 tools, and 363 items of alcohol.

Other items, which didn't make it past security, were 346 cameras, 54 recorders and 54 unnamed items classed as “other”. There were no recorded instances where firearms or imitation firearms were confiscated.

The total number of items seized by security in 2009 totalled 659 compared with 341 in 2010 and 90 in the first three months of 2011.

Most items can be reclaimed by their owner when they leave the court building with the exception of some, which could be classed as weapons.

The owners of knives with a blade shorter than three inches have 28 days from the date of confiscation to apply in writing to the court to reclaim it and it will be returned if the court considers it was lawfully held.

A spokeswoman for Her Majesty’s Court Service said: “HMCS takes the issue of security within courts extremely seriously and has a rigorous system in place, including mandatory bag searches, bag scanners, metal detectors and surveillance cameras, to ensure the safety of all court users.

"It is an offence to be in possession of a knife with a blade of more than three inches. If an individual is caught trying to enter any court building with such a knife the police will be called and appropriate action will be taken."