More than 160 knives and firearms seized by Cumbria Police in two weapons amnesties

More than 160 weapons have been surrendered by the public in Cumbria during two amnesties.

The haul, now in the hands of Cumbria Police, contains 80 knives and 86 firearms, including ammunition, flares and replicas.

The two surrenders last month (May) were part of a national scheme aimed at taking weapons off the streets and away from criminals.

Chief Inspector Gill Cherry, of Cumbria Constablary, has thanked those who handed in weapons anonymously and "contributed to making Cumbria a safer place".

Peter McCall, Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “Weapon surrender schemes such as these are not new but they are essential in removing weapons off our streets and out of the hands of criminals.

“I am grateful to the public who have responded positively to this campaign; the surrender of 166 weapons really does show that members of the public understand that there is no need to have any form of weapon lying around the house and certainly not carrying them on our streets."

A proportion of the firearms and knives will be destroyed but some may be kept by the National Ballistic Intelligence Service (NABIS) or museums if they are of significant interest or unusual.

Any guns which can be proved to be linked to a crime will be kept as evidence and retained for any future court case proceedings.