Police were assessing a significant haul of weapons handed in by the public in their latest weapons amnesty that ended recently.

The amnesty, the first since 2014, came to an end on February 28 with a final count of 92 items handed in.

Constable Carl Ward, in charge of firearms for the constabulary, said: ’Last time we collected 110 so it was only slightly fewer, more than I expected. The last two times have both been very successful.’

Certainly the amnesty has yielded an impressive array of weapons from the routine to the weird and unusual.

’We have had shot guns and air rifles, bullet action rifles, hand guns, pistols and imitation fire arms that fire blanks. We even had a captive bolt gun of the type used to slaughter animals,’ he said.

Among the more unusual items was an ex-service revolver in perfect condition, complete with a leather holster, a Samurai sword, a walking stick with a concealed dagger inside it, a cross bow, spears and a range of knives.

Constable Ward said some were items that had originally been legally held but certificates had lapsed and not been renewed. In some instances people had perhaps brought air guns to the island not realising they required a certificate here, unlike in the UK.

’Some are clearly items that have been stored away in someone’s attic or shed for years, perhaps because a relative has died,’ he said. ’Some of the swords are decorative items people have hung on the wall then decided they no longer want.

’I expected there to be about half this number of items so it’s reassuring that people have handed them in. It’s better if the items are out of circulation because it means they can’t then fall into the wrong hands.’

All the seized items will be ultimately cut up then destroyed so they can’t be used.

The Isle of Man police hold a weapons amnesty roughly every three years which is the period after which firearms certificates also come up for renewal. Police have reminded people to submit their renewal applications as soon as possible so they can be processed ahead of the expiry in April.