A FIREARMS amnesty held by Dorset Police closed on Sunday night.

The initiative was part of a national two-week surrender to ensure illegally-held weapons do not become part of any criminal enterprise or incident.

Officers say many firearms are “held in innocence and ignorance of their illegality”, while others are “overlooked and forgotten”.

Police said numbers of weapons handed in would be revealed shortly and all firearms will be examined for evidence of criminality. All firearms will then be cut up and the metal recycled.

During the surrender, those handing over firearms will not face prosecution for the illegal possession and can remain anonymous.

Michelle Mounsey, firearms and explosives licensing manager Dorset Police, said: “One weapon removed from potential circulation is one less that can be used to harm or threaten our communities.”

Replica guns, airsoft guns, BB guns, Tasers and “anything that looks like the real thing” were included in the list of firearms which were eligible for the surrender.

At the end of the last firearms surrender in November 2017, 214 firearms of various types had been handed in to Dorset Police.