MORE than 50 firearms have so far been handed in to West Mercia Police as part of a nationwide ‘Give Up Your Guns’ campaign.
Anyone who owns an unwanted weapon can, until Sunday, May 29, surrender it to police as part of efforts to keep weapons off local streets.
Officers say anyone doing so will not face prosecution and will remain anonymous.
The countrywide scheme is part of ongoing work to prevent guns and ammunition falling into the wrong hands.
People who own legally-held firearms are not affected.
But police say many people own firearms unaware that they are illegal or have been forgotten about.
They can be surrendered at a number of police stations including Worcester, Kidderminster and Redditch.
They say if the station is closed when someone arrives, call 999 and wait for a specialist officer to arrive.
Never leave firearms unattended.
Illegal possession of a firearm can mean five years in prison and anyone found guilty of possession with intent to supply can be given a life sentence.
Chief Inspector Sarah Corteen said: “We’ve had a great response to the campaign so far with more weapons taken out of society.
“And there is still time for anyone who owns an unregistered firearm or one that is no longer wanted to safely hand them in.
“Thankfully gun crime is not a significant issue in West Mercia but we will continue to work hard to keep weapons out of our communities.
“Give Up Your Guns to keep everyone safe.”
If residents have information about someone they suspect to be in possession of an illegal weapon, they can contact West Mercia Police by calling 101 or visiting westmercia.police.uk/ro/report/.
Any information received is always dealt with in the strictest confidence.
Alternatively, if they don’t want to speak to police, they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or by visiting Crimestoppers-UK.org which is 100 per cent anonymous and independent of the police.
