Thousands of firearms have been handed in during the campaign

A father whose daughter died in the Dunblane massacre has accused the UK Government of "hypocrisy" over a gun amnesty.

Thousands of firearms have been handed in to police forces across the country during the month-long initiative, which ends on Wednesday.

However, Mick North joined two leading charities to attack the government for failing to halt the overseas trade in arms.

His five-year-old daughter Sophie was one of 17 victims when Thomas Hamilton broke into Dunblane Primary School in March 1996 and opened fire on a class in the gym.

Mr North said: "An innocent life lost to a bullet is equally tragic wherever the trigger is pulled.

Proposed legislation

"While we are desperately trying to get guns off UK streets, the government refuses to stop British citizens proactively selling guns to conflict-ridden countries.

"The hypocrisy is breathtaking. It's time for the government to live up to its promises."

Oxfam and Amnesty International also accused the government of double standards.

They said that loopholes in proposed regulations would allow dealers to avoid most controls by simply leaving the UK to broker their deals.

An innocent life lost to a bullet is equally tragic wherever the trigger is pulled Mick North

The charities argued that so-called "extra-territorial" controls should be taken which would deal with UK arms dealers wherever they did their business.

Mr North added: "I applaud (Home Secretary) David Blunkett's drive to tackle guns but others in government must learn from his stance.

"Unless it tightens up its arms export laws, a number of misguided individuals - the brokers and transporters who ship guns to deadly conflict zones - will continue to spread fear and violence in communities across the world by fuelling the deadly trade in unregulated guns."

More than 17,000 firearms and 450,000 rounds of ammunition were handed in to police stations across the UK during the weapons amnesty.

They include a Mk 1 Bren gun, which is 4ft long and has a range of more than a mile, handed in anonymously to Lothian and Borders Police.

The Scottish figures will not be compiled until the midnight deadline passes.

However, at the three-week stage the Scottish Executive said 1,800 firearms and 175 rifles had been surrendered, including a number of AK47 weapons, along with more than 100,000 rounds of ammunition.