A NATIONAL gun amnesty is giving people the chance to take scores of potentially lethal weapons off the streets of Blackburn.

But police have admitted that there is a hard core of local criminals who will ignore the chance to escape prosecution.

The first national firearms amnesty since 1988 will last from next Monday, to Sunday, June 30.

People who hand in weapons at a police station will not be prosecuted for unlawful possession, although police will carry out investigations if it is believed they have been used in crime.

Chief Supt Eddie Walsh, head of Blackburn Police, said: "The idea is to create an environment where people feel free to hand in their firearms and remove them from circulation.

"This is an opportunity for people who have acquired firearms from any number of sources, whether it be a war memento or something left to them by a relative.

"Very often they don't know what to do with them, so they do nothing. This is their chance.

"This isn't about prosecuting people, it is about getting guns off the streets and if anyone knows somebody who has a gun, they should make them aware of the amnesty and encourage them to hand it in."

The use of weapons by criminals has increased greatly in recent years, but the recent knives amnesty met with a poor response in Blackburn, with only 28 weapons being handed in between December 20 and January 20.

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