Nine Sussex police stations will take in firearms during a national amnesty starting at the end of this month.

Assistant Chief Constable Geoff Williams said: "We hope this will reduce the availability of firearms of all descriptions and ultimately spare innocent members of the public the trauma of being threatened with a gun."

Owners will be able to surrender weapons at Bexhill, Brighton, Chichester, Crawley, Eastbourne, Hastings, Haywards Heath, Uckfield and Worthing without being prosecuted for illegal possession from March 31 to April 30.

Mr Williams said: "This provides a great opportunity for people to get rid of an illegally-held or an unwanted gun but it is important we keep the firearms issue in perspective.

"Last year there were 67 robberies in Sussex where a firearm was seen. It is likely that in many cases the firearm was an imitation or air weapon. Victims suffer the same distress whether or not the gun is real.

"This initiative is one of a range of measures we are taking to ensure we keep a tight grip on gun crime and that Sussex remains a safe place to live."

Mr Williams said the force was concerned by the number of young people, mostly men, carrying toy or imitation weapons.

He said: "Some of these items are so realistic trained police firearms officers confronted with them cannot tell them from the real thing. Anyone carrying them faces the very real possibility of being confronted by armed police officers."

He said new legislation will make it an arrestable offence to possess a replica firearm or air weapon in a public place without reasonable excuse or lawful authority and there will be a minimum five-year sentence for the illegal possession of a firearm.

During the last national firearms amnesty in Sussex in 1996, 873 weapons were surrendered, along with 35,000 rounds of ammunition.