Sharp rise in firearm seizures

Officers say the public are more aware of weapons

The number of firearms seized by Scotland's largest police force has risen sharply over the past year.

Nearly 500 weapons were recovered by Strathclyde Police, a rise of more than 100.

Of the rifles, pistols and shotguns seized, 395 were genuine firearms.

A spokesman for the force said the increase was due, in part, to increased public awareness of the dangers of guns following the Dunblane tragedy in 1996.

The figures show that, in total, 474 weapons were seized during 2000. Of those, 395 were genuine firearms.

One machine gun was seized

In 1999 the figure was 357, including 232 non-replicas.

The steepest rise was in the number of air rifles seized, which more than doubled from 56 to 134, while the number of air pistols also increased from 98 to 145.

Police also recovered 59 shotguns, 33 self-loading pistols, 23 revolvers and a machine gun over the course of the year.

Detective Superintendent Jim Gemell said increased public awareness of guns following the Dunblane massacre had helped police seize more firearms.

He said: "There were nearly three times the number of calls to Crimestoppers regarding firearms from the Strathclyde region to the year before.

"That shows the higher public awareness over the dangers and unacceptablility of firearms.

"We are still seeing the effect of Dunblane."