Licensed gun owners have been urged to hand in their weapons over fears burglaries could see them fall into criminal hands.
Senior Merseyside Police officers told the ECHO some households in the region have as many as "40 weapons in their home". Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Mark Kameen said: "We have work ongoing to remove and reduce the amount of lawfully-owned firearms across Merseyside so they don't fall into the wrong hands.
"We have people in this area that have 30 or 40 weapons in their home. If that house gets burgled the risk to our communities is elevated. We have gone on the front foot and are speaking to people to encourage them to bring the weapons back to Merseyside Police."
