An upholsterer got the shock of his life when he put his hand down the side of the sofa he was repairing.

He felt a piece of metal - and pulled out a First World War pistol.

He put his hand down the chair again and came up with a box of bullets for the gun.

The 1915 semi-automatic Becker and Hollander, discovered in a village outside Lewes, was among 164 firearms surrendered to Sussex Police during the first week of a guns' amnesty.

A Russian-made Kalashnikov assault rifle, nicknamed the Widow Maker, was handed in at Horsham police station.

Police believe it was a souvenir taken from an Iraqi by a British soldier in the first Gulf war.

Police were astonished such lethal weapons were being held in Sussex but they are delighted the firearms are no longer in circulation.

Rodney Ash, firearms and explosives manager for Sussex Police, said the First World War pistol would have been a valuable collectors' item had it still been legal to keep.

Following the Dunblane tragedy, the Government decreed in 1997 all such guns were illegal and offenders can face up to ten years in prison.

Other weapons surrendered included BB guns, air weapons, pocket-size Deringer pistols, wartime revolvers, shotguns, .22 rifles, replicas, blank-firing guns, German Lugers, a .38 Special, a Magnum, crossbows, swords and a harpoon gun.

The haul also included almost 3,000 rounds of ammunition.

Mr Ash said many weapons had been kept in lofts, trunks and cupboards for years.

Horsham police station received the most (39) followed by Eastbourne (35) and Chichester (21). Thirteen have been given up in Brighton.

The month-long amnesty runs throughout England and Wales until April 30.

Assistant Chief Constable Geoff Williams said: "This is an excellent start and we are delighted with the response so far.

"The number of armed incidents in Sussex, thankfully, is low and we are determined to make the county even safer."