Metal detectors for rail station

A railway station in Birmingham is to be the first outside London to use portable metal detectors in an effort to stop passengers carrying knives.

A similar police operation across stations in London has been so successful that it is to be extended.

Almost 10,000 people have been scanned by the metal detectors over the last two months and almost 50 knives have been seized.

Passengers at New Street Station will be randomly searched from 18 April.

The government has previously said full airport-style security is impossible at UK stations because of the huge numbers of people using them every day.

The machines, developed by a US company, can detect hidden weapons and explosives.