A TOTAL of 96 guns and 1,129 rounds of ammunition have been handed over to Swindon police station during a month-long gun amnesty.

The collection was part of a national firearms amnesty, which ended yesterday, aimed at encouraging members of the public to hand over guns and ammunition without being prosecuted for illegal possession.

Police were also asking people to hand over replica guns and air weapons which can also be used in crime.

The most unusual item handed over was a Second World War Bren Gun.

Collector Jason Birch, 27, took the deactivated weapon, worth £500, to Westlea Police Station.

The Honda worker bought the mark II .303 calibre machine gun from a trade magazine.

Wiltshire Police spokeswoman, Alvina Kumar said: "We had a number of unusual guns bought in.

"One was a 12 bore single shotgun made in 1903, which was handed in by an elderly gentleman.

It had last been used for rabbit shooting in 1906 and had been left in his loft for more than 50 years.

He saw our publicity campaign and decided to hand the weapon in.

"We have been heartened by the number of people who have responded to our amnesty. Removing firearms from the streets of Swindon will make it a safer place to live."

Since last year, there have been 111-recorded crimes in Swindon involving offensive weapons. Reported incidents involving firearms in the same period totalled 153.

In Wiltshire the police recovered 304 weapons and 3,773 rounds of ammunition.

In the last gun amnesty in 1996, more than 800 weapons and 2.5 tons of ammunition were surrendered in the county.

The amnesty, a Home Office initiative, comes ahead of the introduction of tough new sentences for illegal possession of prohibited firearms that will see those convicted facing a minimum sentence of five years.

It was prompted by the shootings of two teenage girls in Birmingham over the New Year, when they were caught in the middle of a gangland shootout.