Rise in legal gun ownership in Derbyshire

Newly released figures from the Home Office show that in March this year, there were 13,328 licensed firearms in the area, up from 10,002 in 2009.

The number excludes shotguns, which are licensed separately.

It means there are 1,279 firearms for every 100,000 people in Derbyshire, an increase of 28 per cent from March 2009, when local records were first collated.

It is the highest rate at any point over the last decade.

In total, 3,448 valid firearm licences in Derbyshire covered an average of 3.9 guns each.

There were a further 30,158 licenced shotguns in the area - also a slight increase on a decade ago.

Gill Marshall-Andrews, chairman of the Gun Control Network, said that society should be working towards fewer guns, and that the rise in legal firearms was difficult to explain.

She said: “We campaign strongly for tighter licensing laws and those have been introduced, by and large.

“It is becoming more difficult to get a gun licence, so I have no idea why it has gone up.

“Unless we are going to say that nobody should have a gun - and we have never said that - you should have a good reason to own a gun, and you should be a proper person.

“The guidance is stricter and the licencing regulations, if properly applied, should mean that fewer people have a gun.