A FIRST World War gun was among the weapons handed to Worcestershire police during a month-long firearms amnesty.

A total of 67 weapons, from a pistol to a knife, were taken to police stations in Worcester, Droitwich, Malvern and Evesham during the amnesty, which ended on Wednesday.

"We have received imitation guns and old shotguns that have been forgotten and left to rust away," said a West Mercia police spokesman.

"The owners didn't want them any more so chose to hand them over to us.

"We have even had First World War and Second World War guns as well, which, even if they happened to be valuable, will be destroyed along with all the other weapons collected during the amnesty," she said.

In total, 13 handguns, 40 shotguns and 14 miscellaneous weapons have been surrendered to police together with 1,000 rounds of ammunition.

Members of the public were invited to hand over their weapons during the amnesty without fear of prosecution.

"We are very pleased these guns have been taken off the street," said a police spokesman.

"Not only does it mean they can't be used to commit crime, but it also means children aren't in danger of playing with them and hurting themselves."

Last year, there were 54 offences involving a firearm in West Mercia compared to 590 in six months in the West Midlands.

The amnesty was launched ahead of Government plans to introduce a minimum five year jail term for the illegal possession of a firearm.