GUN owners are being encouraged to hand in their unwanted firearms and ammunition without repercussion as part of a campaign to make Surrey and Sussex safer places.

The surrender, which runs from Monday, November 13 to Sunday, November 26, aims to reduce the number of illegally held firearms in circulation which could fall into the hands of criminals following a rise in recorded firearms offences across the UK in 2017.

This includes replica firearms, air weapons, BB guns, imitation firearms, antique guns, component parts and other ballistic items.

Sussex Police Detective Chief Inspector Steve Rayland said: “While crimes involving firearms in both Surrey and Sussex are extremely rare, we understand that every weapon poses a potential threat if not licensed and stored safely. That’s why we’re offering people this opportunity to safely hand in their unwanted weapons which, if in the wrong hands, could be deadly.

“During the surrender we want people to hand in illegally-held guns and ammunition, imitation firearms and air guns used for criminal purposes, other unwanted guns and ammunition including air guns and imitations, and firearms you are being asked to hide for someone else. If you have a gun that falls into any of these categories, now is your chance to hand it in.”

During the two-week campaign, those surrendering firearms will not face prosecution for the illegal possession upon surrender, and can remain anonymous.

The last national firearms surrender took place in 2014 and more than 6,000 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition were recovered by police forces across the UK.

Surrenders will take place across Surrey between 8am and 10pm daily from November 13 to 26, at Guildford, Reigate, Staines and Woking police stations.