Mr Blair was in Nottingham on Thursday and Friday

Mr Blair was shown a stash of firearms collected by officers fighting gun crime in the county.

Officers showed him how easily replica guns could be modified to fire live ammunition.

Mr Blair, who earlier met victims of crime in Nottingham, chatted to officers involved in the Operation Stealth team, which deals with drug-related gun crime in the city.

He was told by Detective Chief Inspector Ian Waterfield that replica firearms had become a huge problem on the city's streets.

COMMUNITY FEELING A public meeting about crime in Nottinghamshire was held in Arnold on Thursday night Read about the meeting Read other people's comments

The prime minister asked if the new five-year minimum sentence for possession of a firearm had helped reduce gun crime.

Mr Waterfield replied: "For the majority of our people five years is an occupational hazard for them because they don't do five years, they do two or three.

"I don't know if it is enough of a deterrent for them."

Mr Blair said afterwards: "I was glad to be able to spend some time privately listening to victims of crime in Nottingham.