Merseyside Police have been handed more than 100 weapons by the public following a “Firearms Surrender” campaign.
The two-week amnesty lasted from November 7th to 21st and was designed in order to give people in possession of illegal firearms an opportunity to hand them in.
It was also aimed at preventing antique, replica and decommissioned weapons from falling into the hands of criminals, who could reactivate and use them for illegal purposes.
A total of 126 weapons have now been handed in, including 25 shotguns, five rifles, 24 air rifles and 11 handguns. Many of these are so-called “granddad guns”, antique weapons with the capacity to be used again.
Now, 12 of the guns are being considered for assessment by the National Ballistics Intelligence Service, which could investigate their history and use.
As well as the guns, 20 lots of ammunition were surrendered, with a total of 2,600 rounds.
Detective Chief Inspector Tom Keaton said: “We are extremely pleased with the results of the surrender and the firearms that the public have handed-in. Whether or not they have been held illegally in the past, all of these weapons could have fallen into the hands of criminals who would then have used them to cause fear and violence.”
He added: “Every weapon handed in is one less which could potentially be used on our streets and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the public for their excellent response to the surrender operation.”
The numbers are lower than the last amnesty in 2003, when 500 guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition were handed in.