A national air gun amnesty is being launched to allow people to surrender unwanted weapons ahead of a change in the law that means every gun must be licensed

Air gun owners seeking to avoid the new licence fee - or a fine and possibly imprisonment for an unlicensed gun - can surrender their weapon to the police next week.

The cost has 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.

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 hit on the head with an air gun pellet near his home in the Easterhouse area in March 2005.

The launch comes 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, around 10pm on Monday.

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 though the lead had snapped then I turned round and realised somebody had taken a shot at me."

Police said people should bring in weapons, which can look like conventional ballistic weapons, carefully and safely.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams said there could be "many thousands" of air guns around Scotland.

He said: "Protecting the public sits at the heart of everything we do and Police Scotland fully supports the new legislation and the more licensing arrangements that will be introduced.

"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."

It is also recognised that wild animals and cats are the most common victims of air weapon crimes, with more than 100 reports of animals being targeted each year.

Many of these attacks take place in highly-populated, residential areas.

The Scottish Government is raising awareness of its new law with a cat called Fizz, who lost a leg when her thigh bone was shattered by an air gun pellet near her Renfrewshire home in 2014.

Fizz's owner Elaine Boyle, 50, a mother-of-three from Renfrew, said: "Air weapons in the hands of those who misuse them can cause absolute devastation to families like ours who have had innocent pets maimed or even killed."

Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said: "Disturbingly, some people seem to think it is fun to maim and kill defenceless animals with air weapons and this is completely unacceptable in a modern, civilised society."

Police Scotland is running a surrender campaign at 72 stations for three weeks starting on May 23, ahead of the launch of the new air weapons certificate application form on July 1.

All owners will require a licence by December 31.