An Uzi machine gun and ammunition has been discovered hidden under a hut in a Black Country residential street.

The find came at a house in the Merridale area of Wolverhampton after police received a tip-off.

Detectives are hunting for the gangsters who aimed to use it. The house owner had no idea that the weapon, which has been sent for forensic testing, was being concealed on his property. The gun was found by members of the West Midland Police Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) acting on information on Friday.

Det Insp Sarbjit Johal, from the unit, said today: “Thankfully, weapons like this are very rare in the West Midlands, and there is now one less on the streets with the potential to be used in criminal activities.

“This firearm has been recovered as a result of an intelligence-led investigation and will now be forensically tested for fingerprints, DNA and sent to the National Ballistics Intelligence Service hub in Birmingham.”

No arrests have yet been made in connection with the inquiry.

The ballistics headquarters was officially opened by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith last week.

It is one of only three in the country which are spearheading the fight against gun crime.

The three have a complete database of all firearms and ammunition seized by police in England and Wales.

The centres can match a weapon to unsolved UK crimes within hours, providing vital clues to the culprits.

Det Chief Supt Dave Mirfield, from West Midlands Police, said: “The fact that criminals are increasingly aware of forensic evidence makes ballistics vitally important in the hunt for clues.”

One of the weapons which are currently being studied by experts at the West Midlands ballistics hub has already been connected to eight shootings, including two murders.

SOCU was formed in April 2008 and, in its first year of operations in the West Midlands, made more than 100 arrests while recovering almost four tons of cannabis, 50kg of cocaine, several firearms and more than £310,000 cash from criminals.