Forty blank-firing guns handed in during amnesty

More than 40 blank-firing guns have been handed in to West Mercia Police during a firearms amnesty.

The force said it supported a Bruni Top Venting Blank Firers amnesty, after tests showed they could be readily converted into firearms, therefore making them illegal to possess.

It stated the 46 were surrendered across Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire as part of a campaign in England and Wales between 2 and 27 February.

Gun crime in the force's area remained "very rare but we are not complacent about it", Det Ch Insp Joanne Woods said.

The amnesty was held after "testing of the Bruni-manufactured Side/ Top Venting Blank Firers (TVBFs) by the National Crime Agency" and police found five models "were shown to have been shown to be readily convertible".

TVBFs are blank-firing guns with fully-blocked barrels, designed solely to discharge blank cartridges, the force added.

Police said the blank-firing guns were previously legal to purchase in the UK by people over 18 and in their original state they were designed to discharge only blank cartridges.

Unwanted or unlicensed firearms and ammunition may be surrendered to police at any time, "avoiding the risk of them becoming involved in criminality and ensuring safe disposal".

Anyone who wanted to hand in a firearm or ammunition should call police first on 101 to arrange this, the force stated.

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