The news that police have seized three shotguns, a handgun and drugs with a street value of more than £500,000 is both good and bad news.

Good news, of course, because it is always welcome to hear that firearms and drugs have been taken out of circulation. Drugs ruin lives and the possession of guns by those who deal in drugs can only ever be for criminal purposes.

The more negative side of the story comes with the suspicion that this haul of guns is quite likely only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the number of firearms circulating around Bradford's criminal fraternity.

It is a fact that incidents of innocent people being injured or killed by guns in this country are still relatively rare compared to the United States, where ownership of weapons is far more prevalent.

The majority of firearms incidents involve criminals attacking other criminals in a bid to expand their territory or claim a greater stake in the underworld landscape.

But that does not mean that innocents always avoid getting caught up in the crossfire. It is rare, but it happens, and that is why the police must be supported in any way possible in their bid to clear these vile weapons from the streets of the Bradford district.

Though a relatively modest seizure of weapons, this is indeed a step in the right direction and is evidence that a set of new tactics by the police to target such crimes is paying off.

It is to be hoped that the new approach by the police pays yet more dividends, and greater numbers of guns are removed from the criminal elements who use them.