Machine gun among more than 100 weapons handed in during Lancashire police amnesty

A First World War machine gun was among more than 100 firearms taken off the streets following an amnesty.

A total of 115 firearms and several hundred rounds of ammunition were handed in to Lancashire Constabulary during the two-week surrender.

The amnesty, which ran from November 13-26, saw 20 shotguns, four rifles and a number of revolvers and pistols handed in, along with 21 air weapons and ball bearing guns.

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A First World War machine gun and 41 pin fire rounds were also amongst the haul handed in by members of the public.

Supt Julian Platt from Lancashire Constabulary said: “The campaign has shown significant success with members of the public keen to use this opportunity to hand in weapons and work with us to help keep our county safe.

“Not all of the firearms would have had the potential to be used in serious crime, but some would and the pin fire rounds in particular, are highly volatile and would be very dangerous in the wrong hands.”

Clive Grunshaw, Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner said: “There are a number of reasons that people may find themselves with a firearm they should not have, potentially through

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inheritance or legally owned guns they have no more use for – every single weapon which has been handed in is one which will now not fall into the wrong hands.”

Each firearm handed in will now be assessed by firearms officers, and the majority of them destroyed; the exception being anything of forensic interest or potential museum pieces.

Supt Platt concluded: “Although the surrender has ended, we’d still welcome information about illegal firearms activity in the county.”