AN AMNESTY for replica guns that can be converted to fire live rounds has begun in our region.

Both North Yorkshire and Humberside Police have urged owners of Olympic .380 BBM blank-firing revolvers to drop them off at police stations without fear of prosecution.

The weapons are often used to start races or for dog training, and have been branded as “readily convertible” by the Forensic Science Service, making it illegal to possess them in the UK.

A statement from Humberside Police said the national campaign was a response to criminal use of converted weapons.

“Over the past 12 months there has been clear evidence at a national level that the weapon has been subjected to illegal conversion to make it capable of firing live or improvised ammunition and has been used widely by the criminal fraternity,” said the statement.

The amnesty began on Friday, only weeks after a woman was shot in the head by an airgun in Gale Lane, York.