ARMED criminals in Northampton are to be targeted as part of a month-long nationwide gun amnesty launched by the Government in a bid to cut back on soaring firearms crime and beat Britain's burgeoning gangland culture.

Anyone in possession of illicit firearms and ammunition will be able to hand their weapons over to police between March 31 and April 30 without fear of facing prosecution.

The move comes ahead of the introduction of tough new sentences for illegal possession of prohibited firearms, which will see a minimum five-year sentence for those convicted.

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