A HIGH-PROFILE campaign prompted by a toddler’s death has resulted in more than 100 potentially lethal air weapons being taken off the streets of Tayside.

Owners across Scotland were encouraged to hand over the guns after two-year-old Andrew Morton was shot and killed near his home in Glasgow.

As a result of the initiative, it was revealed yesterday that Tayside Police have taken possession of 75 air rifles, 31 air pistols and 11 ‘soft’ air pistols.

A spokesman for the force said, “It’s good to see that the people of Tayside have taken to handing in weapons that could pose a threat to the safety of our communities.

“Since the launch of the ‘If you don’t need it, get shot of it’ campaign a total of 117 air weapons have been handed in by members of the public in Tayside.

“While the number of air weapons handed in is encouraging, we still need to be informed of any incidents which occur within communities involving air guns.

“Clearly, firing air weapons in public places is illegal and extremely dangerous and we need to be aware of such behaviour in order to put a stop to it.”

The campaign was organised by the Scottish Executive and the Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland) to reassure the public and warn those who use the weapons irresponsibly that their actions would not be tolerated.

The guns are often owned for legitimate purposes, such as pest control, target shooting and training in the use of firearms.

However, police said there was the threat of them being lost or stolen and falling into the hands of an “irresponsible minority,” and asked owners to consider whether their weapons were still needed.