Nearly 20 illegal firearms were handed over to police during a month-long amnesty.

Cheshire Police joined the National Police Chief's Council, National Crime Agency and forces up and down the country in supporting an operation to remove BRUNI-manufactured Side/Top-Venting Blank-Firing (TVBF) firearms from the streets.

Following the conclusion of the amnesty, which ran from February 2 to February 27, these weapons are now illegal to possess in England and Wales and anyone found in possession of a TVBF firearm could face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Detective Chief Inspector Danielle Knox, of the Force Intelligence Bureau, said: "This amnesty was run with the sole purpose of allowing the public to safely dispose of any of these now-illegal firearms without judgement or repercussions.

"With that in mind, BRUNI-manufactured Side/Top-Venting Blank-Firing firearms are now illegal, and anyone found in possession of one will face the full extent of the law.

"We are very fortunate that, as a county, Cheshire has some of the lowest rates of gun-related crime in the country. Now that these weapons have been handed over to officers, we have taken further steps to make our streets even safer.

"On a local level, your neighbourhood officers will continue to work with partner agencies and organisations across the county to provide education around the dangers, rules and regulations surrounding firearms, ensuring that gun crime remains low and does not become a prevalent problem for the people of Cheshire in the future."

TVBF firearms are now illegal to possess in England and Wales (Credit: Cheshire Police)

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Recent testing by the National Crime Agency has found that BRUNI-manufactured Side/Top-Venting Blank-Firing firearms can be converted to discharge lethal ammunition.

Even in cases where the weapons have not been converted, they have been used in criminal activity.

Many of the firearms recovered from criminals have had their typically bright-coloured exteriors painted black to imitate real firearms.

The county-wide amnesty saw 19 of these now-illegal firearms handed in to police.

Since being handed over, these firearms have been made safe by specialist officers within the constabulary and will be destroyed, permanently preventing them from falling into the wrong hands.

The full collection of firearms handed into Cheshire Police during the amnesty (Credit: Cheshire Police)