Call for gun action after rise in licensed owners

Feb 13 2011 by Dan Warburton, Sunday Sun

'Police should do more to get guns off streets'

LUCKY Joe Clarke was peppered with 150 shotgun pellets . . . but lived to tell the tale.

He was targeted by gun-toting thugs on his own doorstep in County Durham just days before Christmas in 2007.

Opening his front door he found two men on the lawn brandishing sawn-off shotguns.

And following a dispute they opened fire, riddling Mr Clarke’s back with pellets.

Last night the 33-year-old oil rig worker said: “I was shot on my own doorstep. It’s too easy for these legally-held guns to fall into the hands of criminals.

“The police need to carry out stricter checks on who they give gun licenses. I’ve never seen a gun before that day but I was left terrified.

“The sensation of being shot was like this terrible burning feeling – I’m still in pain now, more than three years on.”

Fleeing for his life he ran down the residential street of Fairways before being helped inside by a resident living nearby.

Mr Clarke now faces a lifetime of health problems. And doctors have told the former oil-rig worker it’s too dangerous to operate and remove metal pellets still lodged in his heart.

He expects to spend the rest of his life on medication and needs regular checks to test if his organs are starting to fail. Mr Clarke said medics believe the attack has shortened his life by 25 years.

From a secret location, Mr Clarke said: “I’m still scared. I want guns to be taken off the streets and the police should be doing more.

“Anyone can get hold of a gun and they are too easily available.”