A 90-year-old woman handed in a set of valuable ancient cut throat razors during a police operation to curb knife crime.

The pensioner, one of Croydon’s first traffic wardens, approached her Safer Neighbourhood Team in Purley after seeing their knife arch operation in the town centre last month.

The woman was worried the razors could fall into the hands of gang members and spoke to PC James Bland and PCSO Nigel Bond to arrange their collection.

But a surprise was in store for the officers when they arrived at the lady’s address to find an old suitcase filled with a collection of razors and antique barber’s equipment.

Both officers researched the items and they discovered that they belonged to the woman’s deceased husband who was a Regimental barber for the Irish Guards between 1925-1953 at a local army barracks in Caterham.

PC Bland called the Guards Museum in central London explaining the finding and arranged a visit so both officers could show the items to the curator for evaluation.

The curator was delighted to accept the donation to the museum and is now carrying out research into these items so he can display them in the Museum for future generations.

A police spokeswoman said: “This course of action has not only prevented these cut throat razors from getting into the wrong hands but has also restored the items of historic military value to a place of education and allowed the elderly widow to have pride in the knowledge that personal belongings of her late husband have been returned to his old Regiment, which is something she believes he would have been happy with.”