On Monday (3 February) we joined the National Crime Agency and our fellow forces across England and Wales in a month-long firearms amnesty to remove Turkish Top-Venting Blank-Firing (TVBF) firearms from our streets.

The National Crime Agency has found that the weapons, which are designed to fire blanks, can be easily converted into lethal firearms with household tools - thus making them illegal. TVBFs also typically come in bright colours such as blue, pink and yellow, making them easily recognisable, but further research by the NCA has found that many criminals are painting them black, so they imitate lethal firearms.

Over the next four weeks, anyone who is in possession of a Retay, Ekol, Ceonic or Blow brand of TVBF firearm will have the opportunity to anonymously hand them in at one of the five Cheshire Police Helpdesks, located at the Blacon, Crewe, Macclesfield, Warrington or Widnes stations.

After February 28, anyone who is still found to be in possession of any of the aforementioned firearms will have them seized and could face a prison sentence.

For more information, read our full article - County-wide amnesty to be launched to curb circulation of illegal convertible firearms | Cheshire Constabulary