Crushing defeat for gun crime

Hundreds of realistic imitation firearms that were given up as part of a month-long hand-in across Greater Manchester have been crushed under a road roller.
The fake weapons haul was part of a total of more than 4,500 realistic imitation firearms that were taken off the streets in the county by the highly successful Operation Peregrine.

This joint initiative by police and trading standard officers involved them visiting more than 80 premises across Greater Manchester to check that dealers were complying with legislation introduced under the Violent Crime Reduction Act last year. This makes it an offence to sell, manufacture or import any realistic imitation or replica firearms.

A further 227 realistic imitation firearms have been given up by members of the public at police stations across Greater Manchester during the hand-in.
All these guns will be recycled and the proceeds donated to charity to help fund projects in war-torn communities around the world.

Operation Peregrine was a part of GMP's Xcalibre initiative to remove guns from the streets of Greater Manchester, increase public safety and reduce the fear of gun crime.

Detective Chief Inspector John Lyons who drove the roller that crushed the fake firearms said, "We and our colleagues in Trading Standards are delighted that this joint operation has resulted in so many realistic imitation firearms being taken out of circulation. We are determined to continue working together to ensure that guns - whether real or not - do not fall into the wrong hands and that dealers continue to operate within the law."