A TOTAL of 44 firearms were handed in to Kidderminster police during the firearms surrender campaign, the lowest in the region.

The guns were handed into officers in the town as part of a national operation to reduce gun crime and officers from West Mercia Police and Warwickshire Police are thanking members of the public for their support which led to more than 400 items being handed in to police stations in the region.

The campaign, which began on Monday November 3 and ended Sunday November 16, gave anyone with a firearm living in the area the opportunity to surrender it at their local police station.

A total of 436 firearms were handed in during the two week campaign. Of those firearms surrendered, 328 have been handed in to police stations in the West Mercia policing area.

Superintendent Charles Hill said: “We have been overwhelmed by the public response to this campaign and we’d like to thank every person who has taken this opportunity to surrender a firearm for us to dispose of safely. It is great to see that there are so many people as committed as we are to making our region even safer and protecting people from harm.

“We’re fortunate not to have a major gun crime problem in the region but we do have a large number of legally owned firearms and other older firearms in people’s possession and unfortunately these sometimes fall into the wrong hands and end up being used in crime. Every single one of these weapons handed in is one less opportunity for this to happen.”

The Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia, Bill Longmore, added: “I’m very pleased with the number of people that have handed weapons in. It was a good initiative that the police took up, and it’s nice to think that so many firearms have been handed in, which now will never stand the chance of falling into the wrong hands.”

If anyone has any concerns regarding firearms in the community they should call 101 non-emergency number or 999 in an emergency.

Alternatively, you can make a report anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their website – www.crimestoppers-uk.org