GUNS surrendered to Gloucestershire Police as part of their week-long amnesty range from pistols to shotguns and include a few unusual items.

Posting photos on Twitter Gloucestershire constabulary thanked everyone who supported the operation and assured residents that the guns would be destroyed and safely disposed of.

Police also noted that it would be very difficult to tell from any distance which of the weapons they were handed were real and which were fake.

Nearly 40 weapons were handed to police during the week of Operation Magpie including one weapon with a note attached explaining its story.

The note read:  “During the First World War 1914/1918 my father (your grandfather) served in the Royal Army Medical Corps attached to The King’s Royal Rifle Corps in France, Egypt and Palestine (now Israel).

“This fearsome weapon was probably picked up during his time in Palestine where British Forces were opposed to the Turkish army i.e. Germany’s allies.”

A Gloucestershire Police spokesman added: "We have had about 5 guns a day being handed in to police stations across the county, since the start of the operation.

"That is more than usual, on average we have around 300 a year that are handed in or found, approximately 25 per month."

The aim of this national operation is to get as many unwanted guns as possible off the streets of Gloucestershire so there is less chance of them falling in to the hands of criminals.