Recent rises in gun culture have led to the amnesty

The 'Get Guns off the Streets' amnesty, which allows anyone with illegal or legal guns to hand them over at their local police station, starts next Monday.

Gwent Police Chief Constable Keith Turner, launched the amnesty on behalf of his and the three other forces - South Wales Police, North Wales Police, and Dyfed-Powys Police.

Officers were aiming to "maximise public safety" by removing illegally held firearms and ammunition, he said.

"Gun crime is rising so we are now giving people the opportunity to surrender their firearms, when during the period of the amnesty there will be no prosecution," said Mr Turner.

"I would also welcome the surrender of imitation firearms and air weapons.

"Hand them to the police to safeguard the public and prevent any tragedy involving their use," he added.

Replica guns

The amnesty is part of an extensive campaign, which will also see the introduction of new laws to combat recent rises in gun culture.

The Home Office campaign to cut gun crime also includes the introduction of minimum five-year sentences for those convicted of guns offences.

The amnesty will target young people to hand in air weapons to prevent the possibility of being confronted by armed police.

David Blunkett chaired the meeting which agreed the amnesty

The amnesty starts on Monday 31 March and runs until 30 April.

Replica guns, air weapons, ammunition and stun guns all fall under the amnesty, while CS gas and pepper sprays can also be handed in.

The amnesty was agreed by police and ministers at a meeting with community representatives in January, chaired by Home Secretary David Blunkett.

The meeting followed the murders of Charlene Ellis, 18, and Latisha Shakespeare, 17, who were shot outside a New Year party in Birmingham.

The last national firearms amnesty in 1996, after the killing of 16 schoolchildren and a teacher at Dunblane in Scotland, saw 23,000 firearms and 700,000 rounds of ammunition surrendered.

In an earlier Tuesday amnesty, after the Hungerford shooting tragedy in 1987, 48,000 firearms and 1.7m rounds of ammunition were given up by the public.