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More than 800 illegal firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition have been seized by counter-terrorism police and the National Crime Agency in just four weeks in a major crackdown to prevent extremists obtaining guns.

The weapons seized include a fully-loaded AK47 assault rifle, a Skorpion sub-machinegun and 200 handguns.

Other assault rifles and machineguns were also recovered. A total of 282 people, included registered arms dealers suspected of selling illegal weapons, have been arrested.

The large number of firearms seized was hailed by law enforcers as a “significant” success in the battle to prevent terrorists — as well as other criminals — from obtaining weapons and carrying out a marauding Paris-style attack in London or another British city.

But the discovery of so many illegal weapons will also raise fears about the volume of guns entering the country and the checks applied to those licensed to sell or possess weapons.

Today’s disclosure on the success of the guns crackdown came as the Met announced its own week-long firearms surrender in an attempt to reduce the number of weapons circulating in London.

The most significant development today, however, was the unveiling by counter-terror police and the National Crime Agency of the initial results of their joint firearms crackdown.

The total number of guns seized was 833 with the weapons including 11 assault rifles, two machine guns, a sub-machine gun, 99 rifles, 153 shotguns and 200 handguns. The types included Zoraki, Tanfoglio GT32 and Makarov pistols.

The operation also led to the seizure of 4,385 rounds of ammunition, as well as 100 other potential weapons, including knives, plus 80kgs of illegal drugs and more than £500,000 in cash.

Announcing the huge haul of weapons, Detective Superintendent Nick Wilcox of National Counter Terrorism Policing said: “Counter terrorism officers continue to plan and prepare in light of world events such as the attacks in Paris - but we want to remain on the front-foot and stop terrorists obtaining guns in the first place.

“Low firearms availability is a major advantage in the UK.

"In many other western countries someone like Muhiddin Mire, the man who attacked innocent passers-by in Leytonstone tube station last year with a knife, could probably have got hold of a firearm and one serious injury could have become tens of deaths.”

Chris McKeogh, the deputy director of the National Crime Agency who led the operation, added: “We will build on what we achieved in this short period of time to ensure that we develop the best intelligence we can about the firearms cross-over between organised crime and terrorism.

“This is not over though. One gun in the wrong hands is too many, so please think hard and if you know something, pick up the phone anonymously”.

Lead officers have paid tribute to the public response to the #GunsOffOurStreets campaign which ran alongside the operational activity and invited the public to report what they know.

Over 160 reports were received via Crimestoppers, and other sources resulted in an average of 55 intelligence reports every day into the operations room.

The operation, which began in October 2016, aimed to protect the public by disrupting the criminal supply of illegal firearms and ammunition into and around the UK.

It also trialled a new approach to intelligence collection and sharing, which the NCA and NCTP will now continue via a central coordination hub.

An initial analysis of results shows handguns and shotguns were the predominant firearms seized, however the haul also included a fully-loaded AK74 assault rifle, a Skorpion submachine gun and a number of other types of assault rifle.

Some firearms were seized from registered firearms dealers who had their licenses revoked and weapons confiscated, usually for inadequate certification.

Under the terms of the surrender, which runs until 11pm on Sunday, anyone handing a weapon at a police station will be able to do so without giving their details.

The weapons will still be subject to forensic testing, however, and police action could follow if they are found to have been used in a crime.

Anyone who has any information about illegally held guns or ammunition should either contact the police or, if you wish to remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.