Tyneside weapons haul

An Uzi machine-gun was among a haul of weapons displayed yesterday as the fruits of an anti-crime drive.

The 51 firearms seized during Operation Rally in which police focused on known offenders on North Tyneside over the past nine months also included shotguns, pistols and rifles.

Some 66 people being have been charged with a range of offences, involving robbery, violent disorder, drugs, theft and firearms. The commander of Tynemouth police, Superintendent Jon Stoddart, said the operation had been instrumental in reducing crime by a quarter in his district so far this year - and by 17 per cent across the whole force area.