Call for gun action after rise in licensed owners

Feb 13 2011 by Dan Warburton, Sunday Sun

TEENS aged 13 have been granted the right to handle powerful guns as the number of legally-licensed owners in the North rockets past 62,000, the Sunday Sun can reveal.

Thousands of shotgun and firearms licences have been issued by police forces in the last 12 months.

And last night anti-gun campaigners called for action after our figures revealed 90 youngsters under the age of 18 have been handed the right to use the powerful weapons.

Figures accessed by the Sunday Sun show there is one legally-held gun for every 60 people in the North.

The statistics come less than a year after Derrick Bird carried out his shooting spree in the Cumbrian countryside and Raoul Moat launched his rampage on Tyneside.

Gateshead MP Ian Mearns last night warned it was “unacceptable” for guns like those used in the Cumbria killings to be held legally.

He said: “I think it’s incredible that such a large number of firearms and shotgun licences are held in the area. There have been a number of incidents where legally-owned weapons have been used for illegal activity.

“The age of criminality has been debated but I just don’t know what police authorities are thinking of when they give out these licences.”

In the Northumbria Police Force area, children as young as 13 have been granted a shotgun licence, while three 10-year-old boys applied elsewhere.

Of the 151 children under the age of 18 who applied for a licence, only one has been rejected, with 56 pending. Reports claim every force area outside of London has seen an increase in licenses granted.