Six blank-firing guns which can be converted into deadly weapons have been handed to Cheshire Police.
Four of those firearms were taken the Crewe and Nantwich Local Policing Unit.
Cheshire Constabulary backed a national month-long amnesty operation to prevent blank-firing firearms that can be easily converted to lethal weapons from falling into the hands of criminals.
The amnesty aimed to remove Top-Venting Blank-Firing (TVBF) firearms from Cheshire’s streets, and prevent their use in criminal circles.
In their original and legal state, TVBFs have a fully blocked barrel designed to discharge only blank cartridges.
However, recent testing from the National Crime Agency has found TVBF brands Retay, Ekol, Ceonic and Blow can easily be converted with household tools into lethal weapons and have been responsible for at least four homicides across the UK in recent years.
Even in cases where the weapons have not been converted, they have been used in relation to crime.
Many of the weapons have fallen into the hands of criminals have had typically bright-coloured exteriors painted black to imitate real firearms.
Following the conclusion of the amnesty, those weapons are now illegal to possess in England and Wales.
Anyone found to have any of the TVBFs could face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
In total, four Retay handguns were handed in at Crewe police station, one to Wilmslow police station, and one to officers at Blacon police station.
Supt Gareth Wrigley, who led Cheshire’s amnesty operation, said: “Our officers work around the clock, 365 days a year to disarm and destroy the criminal groups active across our region who feel the need to carry a weapon.
“We are very lucky that, as a county as a whole, Cheshire has some of the lowest rates of gun-related crime in the country.
“And now that these weapons have been handed over to officers, we have taken further steps to make our streets even safer.
“On a local level, your neighbourhood officers will be continually working with our partner agencies and organisations across the county in providing education surrounding the dangers, rules and regulations of firearms to ensure that gun crime remains low and does not become a prevalent problem for the people of Cheshire in the future.”
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