St Albans locals have handed in 10 weapons to the police during a county-wide firearms amnesty – far below Stevenage’s haul of 66.

Over 220 weapons had been surrendered at the conclusion of Herts Police firearms amnesty last Friday (21).

Not only were there over 4,000 rounds of ammunition handed in, the number of imitation weapons given up topped the list at 58, followed by 46 shotguns, 26 starting pistols and 23 air pistols.

Three crossbows were also surrendered to the police during the amnesty, which began on November 10.

A break-down of the number of weapons handed in by area shows that North Herts residents surrendered 33, Welwyn/Hatfield saw 29 given to the police, while Hertsmere locals offered up the least – five.

Chief Superintendent Jane Swinburne said there had been an “unexpected level of engagement from Herts residents”.

She commended people for, “fully engaging in the amnesty and helping to make the county an even safer place to live.

“We never expected to get such a response and I’m pleased to say that the majority of firearms have been surrendered by people who have given full details to the police.

“With the help of the public we have managed to take over 200 guns out of circulation and have reduced the chances of these firearms falling into the hands of criminals.”

Gun crime accounts for less than one per cent of crime in Herts.

Anyone concerned about firearms in their possession should call 101 to speak to a firearms licensing officer.