Amnesty leads to surrender of 25,000 guns

Police recieved 25,000 weapons during the month-long gun amnesty that ended yesterday.

The April haul, which also included half a million rounds of ammunition, outstripped the 23,000 firearms surrendered in the previous amnesty, held after the 1996 Dunblane school massacre.

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, who chaired a meeting on gun crime with community leaders yesterday, said the initiative was a success. The Home Office said the firearms included more than 2,000 prohibited weapons, such as handguns.

Last month's initiative was organised after the new year shootings of Charlene Ellis, 18, and Letisha Shakespeare, 17, in Birmingham.

Mr Blunkett promised a review of firearms legislation and initiatives to tackle the witness intimidation in gun-crime cases. "The community must be at the heart of the continued drive to reduce the number of firearms being used on our streets."

But gun crime rose by 35 per cent last year. Oliver Letwin, the shadow Home Secretary, said: "Only by attacking crime at its roots and getting police visibly back on the streets in substantial numbers will the Government make any impact on the guns menace."