 Airgun owners face five years in prison if they do not register |
Police in Sussex are reminding owners of self-contained air cartridge guns that they need to get a certificate for the weapons by Friday. They face at least five years in jail if they do not get one.
The force has so far granted 56 firearms certificates covering 120 weapons, while 40 have been handed in at a police station to be destroyed.
Sussex Police spokesman Rodney Ash said there was still time for people to take "positive action".
From 20 January it has been an offence to manufacture, sell, purchase, transfer or acquire any of this type of weapon using a self-contained air cartridge system.
The majority of the guns are low-powered air pistols, used for target shooting over 10 metres.
They operate using a system where the airgun pellet and a charge of air to propel it are contained in a single cartridge.
The law defines them as "self-contained gas cartridge guns", with most bearing the name Brocock.
The legislation is an attempt to stop criminals from converting the weapon to fire live ammunition.
Application forms for Sussex residents to register the weapons can be requested from the Firearms and Explosives Licensing Branch at police headquarters, or online through the force's website.
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
