WEST Mercia Police collected 46 Bruni blank firing guns as part firearms amnesty that took place in February.
Between February 2 and 27 people surrendered 14 x‘GAP’ 8mm blank firing self-loading pistols, 12 8mm PAK Bruni BBM Model 92 blank firing self-loading pistols, 10 .380R (9mmK) PAK Bruni BBM ME Ranger single-action blank firing revolvers, eight ME Ranger .380R PAK single-action blank firing revolvers, and two ‘New Police’ 8mm PAK self-loading pistols.
The amnesty was held after testing of the Bruni-manufactured Side/ Top Venting Blank Firers (TVBFs) by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and police found five models were shown to have been shown to be readily convertible and therefore illegal.
TVBFs are blank-firing guns with fully blocked barrels, designed solely to discharge blank cartridges.
The blank-firing guns were previously legal to purchase in the UK by people over 18. In their original state, they were designed to discharge only blank cartridges.
Det Ch Insp Joanne Woods said: “Gun crime in the West Mercia Police force area remains very rare but we are not complacent about it, which is why we supported the Bruni TVBF firearms amnesty last month, after tests showed they can be readily converted into firearms, therefore making them illegal to possess.
“We are pleased that 46 of these weapons were surrendered across our three counties during February which has helped prevent them getting into the wrong hands in the future and potentially being used by criminals.”
Unwanted or unlicensed firearms and ammunition may be surrendered to police at any time, avoiding the risk of them becoming involved in criminality and ensuring safe disposal.
