Ornamental canon shell from Harrier Jump Jet handed in as part of firearms surrender

An ornamental canon shell from a Harrier Jump Jet has been handed in as part of our firearms surrender.

Merseyside Police launched the two week surrender on Saturday 20^th July as part of a nationwide campaign by the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS).

In the first ten days we have had a total of 109 surrenders including:

22 viable firearms

26 air weapons

8 blank firers

18 imitation and deactivated weapons

11 lots of ammunition totalling over 680 viable rounds

21 miscellaneous items including air pellets, blank rounds and two crossbows

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Baker said: “I am pleased to see that people are continuing to pay attention to our surrender and handing over unused or unwanted weapons and ammunition so they cannot fall into the wrong hands.

“The ornamental shell is just one of the more unusual items we have received. We know this is something that would be used to commit a crime – but it’s also not something you see every day.

“What I am more pleased to see is that we have already recovered 22 viable firearms and 680 viable rounds of ammunition.

“This is addition to deactivated, imitation and air weapons which we know could be used to cause fear or intimidation as many are realistic and ordinary members of the public may find it difficult to tell them apart from the real thing.

“The whole purpose of this surrender is to give people the opportunity to dispose of weapons they no longer use or don’t want in their homes. We are not under any illusion that criminals will willingly hand over weapons but we know that many firearms are held in innocence and ignorance of their illegality or are overlooked and forgotten in people’s homes. The surrender gives members of the public the chance to dispose of a firearm or ammunition by simply taking it to a local designated police station and handing it in.”

The surrender runs until Sunday 4^th August.

The police stations in Merseyside which will be accepting guns and ammunition during the surrender are: Birkenhead, St Helens police station on College Street, St Ann Street, Southport and Huyton but people are being advised to check the opening times of the stations in advance by messaging @MerPolCC, messaging @MerPolCC, calling 101 or visiting the Merseyside Police website – www.merseyside.police.uk