MACHINE gun ammunition, gangland knives and replica handguns were among more than 100 weapons handed into police during an amnesty.

The terrifying cache also included part of a shotgun which could have been fired with the a simple modification and a number of home-made coshes.

The weapons were handed into stations in Burnley, Nelson, Padiham and Colne during the event between December 10 and January 14.

Police in Pennine Division said they were pleased with the response to the amnesty, which was arranged at short notice.

PC Dave Pascoe, of the 14-strong Pennine armed response unit, said: "Someone could have been seriously injured with some of the weapons we had handed in.

"Although we announced it as an air weapon amnesty we have had lots of other items handed in which is a real bonus.

"I am glad these weapons are off the streets. Some of the weapons have been specially made and some of the knives sharpened and made to cause harm to someone.

"I am really impressed with what we have had handed in and it means that when some of our police officers are called to a domestic incident, now they may not have to come face-to-face with one of these items which could previously been in the house."

Oxfam donated amnesty boxes which were placed in stations throughout Pennine division.

In Rossendale stations and Barnoldswick they were empty but police found a large collection of items handed in at Burnley, Padiham, Nelson and Colne.

Seven air rifles were handed in, along with an identical copy of a Berretta, a ball-bearing gun which looked like a handgun, several gas-powered air weapons and the 410 shotgun part, which PC Pascoe said would only need a metal tube attached before it could be fired.

Some of the knives looked to be possibly souvenirs; one was a kukri Gurkha knife and another "commemorated the Alamo" - with a specially sharpened blade.

Another commando knife had grooves specially cut into each side of the blade, designed, said PC Pascoe, to cause the maximum amount of damage to someone if they were stabbed.

Also in the box was a small sharp push knife which fixes on to a belt hook, two butterfly knives which were common in 60s gangland London, three hasps and two home-made coshes. Several rounds of ammunition were handed in, including 2.2 and old style air rifle pellets and machine gun rounds.

The amnesty follows a six month campaign when armed response officers visited schools in Burnley and Pendle to warn children about the dangers of using air rifles and ball bearing guns after a serous incidents in Newcastle when a 15-year-old girl lost an eye in a suspected airgun attack.

None of the Rossendale schools accepted the invitation by the police to attend and give a talk.

PC Pascoe said: "I hope that some of them may now come forward now and ask us to visit.

"The schools that have taken part have found the talk to be genuinely interesting and useful.

"It has also resulted in a definite reduction in the number of incidents in Pennine Division involving air weapons."