OVER the past few weeks, people in possession of unwanted guns or ammunition were encouraged to hand them in as part of a campaign to make Surrey a safer place.

The national campaign, in collaboration with the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS) ended on Sunday, November 26, following a two week push to promote the surrender of illegal or unwanted guns and their ammunition.

Since the campaign started on November 13, more than 100 items have been surrendered to Surrey Police, including 37 rifles and air rifles, 20 pistols, 17 shot guns and a large quantity of ammunition.

Surrey residents also used the surrender campaign to safely dispose of items such as inert grenades, flare guns and BB guns with no questions asked.

Officers will now examine all items handed in. Any firearms which can be proved to be linked to a crime will be kept as evidence and retained for any future court case proceedings.

A proportion of the firearms will be destroyed but some may be retained by NABIS or museums if they are of significant interest or unusual.

Although the campaign has finished, firearms can be handed into police stations at any time for surrender and destruction. For any questions, call ahead or call 101 for more advice.