A COUNTYWIDE gun amnesty launched by Gloucestershire Police last week has been regarded as a success.

So far we have received a total of up to 40 guns, of all shapes and sizes, during the week-long Operation Magpie - which started on Friday, November 14.

A Gloucestershire Police spokesman said: "We have had about 5 guns a day being handed in to police stations across the county, since the start of the operation.

"That is more than usual, on average we have around 300 a year that are handed in or found, approximately 25 per month."

The aim of this national operation is to get as many unwanted guns as possible off the streets of Gloucestershire so there is less chance of them falling in to the hands of criminals.

Amnesty v Surrender The operation was to provide an amnesty for the possession of the firearm(s) at the point the person hands it/them over.

However if it is discovered that the firearm was used illegally before it was given in then police will pursue a prosecution.