THOUSANDS of weapons have been handed over to police following the launch of a national air gun amnesty last week.

The law will change on December 31 meaning that every gun must be licensed. A new air weapons certificate application form will be available from July 1.

The cost of a licence is yet to be decided by ministers but the British Association of Shooting and Conservation has said it expects it to be less than the £79.50 shotgun licence.

Those who want to avoid a fee can take advantage of a three-week air gun surrender campaign at 72 stations, which began on May 23.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams said 2,301 pistols and rifles have been surrendered and will now be destroyed.

Some weapons are worth up to £400, according to officers, and many come with expensive scopes which can cost more than the weapon.

The majority of guns were handed over at police stations in big cities such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen.

Around 240 guns were surrendered in Aberdeen, while police stations in the other three cities were handed around 200 guns each.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams said: “A week in, 2,301 weapons is a fantastic response from the public. I'm absolutely delighted. There are still two weeks of the campaign to go and I want to encourage responsible members of the public to follow the lead of those that have already handed weapons over."

There were 182 air weapon offences in 2013-14, the equivalent of one every other day, according to the Scottish Government.

The law change follows tragedies including the death of toddler Andrew Morton, who was two years old when he was shot in the head by a drug addict near his home in Easterhouse in March 2005.

The launch of the amnesty came days after a man was shot by someone with an air gun as he jogged down a quiet street with his dog near his home in Kirkintilloch.

Jordan Fyfe, 25, was in hospital for two days and needed an operation to remove the pellet from his leg. He told how he heard a "crack" and felt a searing pain.

He said: "At first I thought the lead had snapped then I turned round and realised somebody had taken a shot at me."

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams previously said there could be “many thousands” of air guns in Scotland.

Speaking last week, he said: “I would urge members of the public who own air weapons but don't intend licensing them to take advantage of our surrender campaign.

“Take a moment or two to look out old or unwanted weapons and follow the advice on our website to safely transport them and where to take them.

“Getting rid of these unwanted air weapons will make our streets safer.”