THE latest firearms amnesty opened with a steady response in County Durham yesterday in an attempt to remove imitation weapons from the streets.

Shootings in some parts of the country, particularly the killing of two young women in Birmingham at the New Year, prompted the latest amnesty called by the Home Office.

The month-long operation, which began yesterday, runs until April 30 and gives anyone holding a firearm the chance to hand it over without being prosecuted for illegal possession.

Durham Police staged their own force-wide amnesty as recently as last October, but senior officers believe the national campaign will yield some genuine weapons, as well as replicas.

Inspector Roy Smith, of the force operations division, said: "The amnesty gives them the opportunity to get rid of weapons safely and without any cost to themselves. We accept the number of weapons handed in this time is likely to be fairly low, but this should still be a worthwhile exercise.

"Imitation firearms are a huge problem, even an expert cannot tell one from the real thing without a proper examination."

Durham's autumn amnesty saw 150 handguns, rifles and shotguns given up in the force area, along with 200 knives, swords and other weapons.

More than 80 air pistols and air rifles, plus two dozen imitation firearms were handed in, as were 1,000 live rounds of ammunition, 250 shotgun cartridges, 350 blank rounds and 6,000 air gun pellets.

Weapons can be handed in at stations, in Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland, Chester-le-Street, Consett, Crook, Darlington, Durham, Newton Aycliffe, Peterlee, Seaham, Spennymoor and Stanley.

They can also be handed in at any station in the neighbouring Northumbria force area during the month.