Shot Pc's husband backs amnesty

Paul Beshenivsky's wife was shot dead while on police duty

The husband of murdered Pc Sharon Beshenivsky has backed a gun and knives amnesty in three police force areas across the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Weapons can be handed in at Humberside, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire police stations from 5 to 31 March.

Paul Beshenivsky said he did not expect "hardened criminals" to hand in guns but if the amnesty took just one weapon off the streets it would be a success.

The move follows the recent gun deaths of three teenage boys in south London.

The amnesty forms part of a £75,000 campaign, which will include an educational programme in schools, to tackle gun and knife crime.

Pc Beshenivsky was shot dead after a bungled armed raid at a travel agents in Bradford in November 2005.

Shootings 'horror'

Mr Beshenivsky said his family were still learning to cope with his wife's death.

He said: "Whenever I see a gun in a film or anything it brings it all back.

"Hardened criminals aren't going to walk in off the street and hand their gun in are they. But if they get just one gun off the street it's better than none at all."

Humberside's Assistant Chief Constable Alan Leaver said the purpose of the campaign in East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire was to stop a gun culture before it started.

Police are hoping both real and replica weapons will be handed in

"We are fortunate at the moment that we don't have a gun culture amongst our young people but we must never be complacent," he said.

"We, like everyone across the country, have watched in horror at the recent news bulletins about fatal shootings in London."

His counterpart in South Yorkshire, ACC Bob Dyson, said the campaign was not a knee-jerk response to incidents elsewhere in the country but had been planned for several months.

He said: "The number of these incidents remains quite low across our region.

"Most involve younger people, often after relatively minor disputes. But, as has been seen in other parts of the country, the outcomes can be fatal."

West Yorkshire's Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison also urged people who know somebody with a gun to give them up.

"We know an amnesty is only part of the solution. It will take some weapons out of circulation, but we know there are those who will never willingly give up the gun," he said.