RARE pistols dating back to the 1900s were among around 130 firearms surrendered to Wiltshire Police last week.

Some of the guns given up during the fortnight's surrender can be traced back to the Boer War and will be donated to museums along with other historical pieces.

Items included 27 air rifles, 35 shotguns, nine air pistols, three revolvers and three handguns. Ammunition was also collected and most of it will be destroyed.

"There has been a variety of realistic looking BB guns, which we found surprising, but some of the more serious looking weapons handed in turned out to be the least powerful," said Insp Steve McGrath.

"There was a .303 rifle which dated back to the 1870s and the Zulu conflicts, and even some duelling pistols.

"The .303 was an unreliable rifle for military use, but was converted to .22 calibre and used for sporting purposes in shooting clubs across the country."

Firearms legislation changed last July and many firearms can be held illegally in innocence.

The laws around antique firearms were tightened which means that someone who has served or received a criminal sentence can no longer possess an antique firearm.

"Many people were just grateful to get rid of these things that had been lying around the house, said Insp McGrath.

"One woman had her husband's old service revolver which she had buried in the back garden because she didn't know what to do with it."

"Because of the rarity of some of the items, we will be offering them up to museums. Even our force armourer, who makes sure they are all safety tested, said one of them he had never come across before. The two pistols from the 1900s came from completely different backgrounds, one was French, and the other was taken from a German officer in Italy.

"Only a small number of these weapons were legally held, and while many were covered in cobwebs, they are still viable firearms, and the very fact they were out there meant they could fall into the wrong hands.

"When we entered into this we had absolutely no idea what to expect. Wiltshire is a very safe county, particularly with gun crime, and we wondered how many weapons were realistically out there.

"There are always these weapons that kick around from past conflicts, but we were expecting something from around the Falklands War rather than 100 years earlier."

The surrender came at the same time as an HMIC report called for mental health disclosure to be implicit in firearms licensing, something Wiltshire Police have routinely done for a number of years.

Anyone who knows of any illegal firearms activity should call the police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.