A two-week amnesty to enable people in northwest England to hand over their guns to the police with no questions asked has begun.
A statement issued by the police on Monday in London, said that the amnesty would end at midnight on April 18, after which tough police action would be taken against any person possessing a gun or weapon.
It read that “from 7 a.m. local time, guns can be handed in to police in Manchester, Liverpool, Lancashire and Cheshire with a guarantee of no action being taken’’.
It said that surrendering unwanted, unlicensed weapons avoided the risk of them becoming involved in criminality and meant that members of the community could dispose of firearms in a safe place.
“One weapon off the streets is one less that can be used to harm or threaten our communities.
“Illegal possession of guns and firearms in Britain carries a heavy fine and long spell in prison,’’ it said.
The statement recalled that a similar amnesty two years ago yielded an arsenal of hundreds of guns and weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
It said that after the exercise, 126 weapons were handed in to police in the Liverpool area, 103 in Greater Manchester and more than 100 in Lancashire County.
“An earlier amnesty in Cheshire County led to 339 guns and weapons being surrendered,’’ it said.
A report had earlier said that 1,500 children, some aged only 10, across England and Wales, were arrested in the past three years on gun and firearms charges. (Xinhua/NAN)
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