Nottinghamshire criminals 'risking own lives with makeshift firearms'

Officers say "slam guns" are dangerous to both the user and the public

A police force has warned criminals are risking their own lives by using "lethal" makeshift firearms, with one suspect blowing part of his hand off.

Nottinghamshire Police said it had seized several "slam guns" made from metal pipes welded together.

The improvised firearms have been used by criminals unable to get their hands on real handguns.

The force said on one occasion in recent months a suspect lost part of his own hand when a weapon backfired.

"Slam guns" are being used as real firearms are difficult to get

Nottinghamshire Police officer David Richardson said: "They [slam guns] are really dangerous to the user, not just the public.

"Blank-firing pistols are also used. Criminals rifle them out and make them into viable firearms.

"We had between 20 to 30 in the space of a three-month period, but they have all been seized and the people who had them have all been sentenced.

"We get a lot of imitation or replica firearms. They look like a viable firearm and fire a projectile like ball-bearings.

"You can still get done by the law for having one and they can be potentially lethal."