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More than 40 blank firing guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition handed in to Notts Police

By Henry Green

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More than forty blank firing guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition have been handed in to Notts Police during a national amnesty.

The four-week campaign started on February 3 and finished on February 28, and allowed owners of certain models of ‘top venting blank firers’ (TVBFs) to hand the weapons in to their local police forces without being prosecuted.

It followed a change in the law which made owning or possessing four models of Turkish TVBFs illegal after tests by the National Crime Agency (NCA) found the weapons could potentially be converted into viable handguns.

Owning a ‘top-venting blank firer’ is currently legal in the UK, but the  ‘Retay’, ‘Ekol’, ‘Ceonic’ and ‘Blow’ models have all been made illegal as they can be converted into active weapons.

A total of 42 blank firers and more than 500 rounds of blank and live ammunition were turned in at police stations in Nottinghamshire during the campaign.

Anyone found in possession of a banned TVBF faces the possibility of up to 10 years in jail.

The amnesty allowed people to hand the firearms in to police offices in Radford, Beeston, Oxclose Lane, Mansfield and Newark.

Owners’ details were not taken by police, but the history of any live firearm handed in was checked to see if there was any evidence that the gun was used in a crime.

While the amnesty was aimed at bringing TVBFs off the streets, firearms owners could also hand in their guns and ammunition without punishment.

Notts Police Detective Superintendent Christopher Sullivan said: “We are pleased by the results of this amnesty which have allowed us to take more than 40 potential weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition off the streets and out of harm’s way.

“This has prevented them getting into the wrong hands, being converted into viable firearms and being used by criminals.”