The dangers of air weapons was brought home to the people of Fife when police officers carried out a day of action on the subject.
This involved 51 officers visiting the homes of people known to hold such weapons, running roadshows in schools and leisure centres and checking that shops selling air rifles, BB guns and bladed weapons were doing so within the law.
The initiative was headed by Superintendent Dougie Milton who said: “We decided to concentrate our resources on this particular day on the dangers of air weapons following an incident in Glenrothes last month when a woman was injured by being shot with an air gun during an attempted robbery.
“It is clear that many people own or have access to these weapons, which are not illegal in most cases, but are dangerous and can be lethal in the wrong hands.
“We decided to visit many of the people we knew to own these weapons to ensure they were being held legally, and to ask them to surrender them if they no longer wanted to own them, so we could have them securely destroyed.
“Officers also visited premises which supply the weapons and ensured that they were complying with legislation and acting responsibly.’’
“We also showed videos in public places on the dangers of these and also bladed weapons and visited schools, colleges and leisure centres to reinforce the message.
“This initiative was aimed at keeping people safe, and by taking off the streets a number of items which could have been dangerous in the wrong hands we achieved that aim.
“Anyone who has an airgun, BB gun or a bladed weapon such as a knife or sword and would like to have it safely and easily disposed of can call us on 101 or through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”