The number of incidents involving air weapons in Essex has more than doubled in the last two years, figures released by Essex Police revealed today.

Home Secretary David Blunkett is to introduce a law preventing under-18s owning air pistols and is to ban the carrying of replica guns in public.

The Evening Echo has campaigned for a ban on the sale and possession of replica guns and recently won praise for an investigation into their sale, which resulted in a toy stall which sold such guns at Pitsea Market being closed.

The number of incidents involving air weapons in Essex has increased to 582 in 2002, up from 258 in 2000.

However, a south Essex gunsmith has claimed that if criminals could not get hold of air weapons and replicas they would just get real firearms from abroad instead.

Terry Robb, the owner of T R Robb the Airgun Specialist, in Benfleet, has also dismissed the suggestion that the most controversial air pistol, the Brocock Magnum ME38, which he stocks and sells to anyone over the age of 17 who passes his "non-dodgy character" test, can be converted to fire live ammunition.

Mr Robb said: "The Brocock ME38 is designed to explode if live rounds are fired from it.

"If someone was stupid enough to fire the converted gun they would be as likely to cause a problem for themselves as for the person they aimed it at."

The gunsmith also believes a ban on imitation firearms and air pistols would only have an impact on respectable sports fans and have no effect on criminals.

A spokeswoman from Essex Police said: "Serious gun crime is a relatively rare occurrence in Essex.

"While there has been some increase in relation to firearms in recent years the majority of offences involving guns continue to relate to air weapons."

Published Thursday, January 9, 2003

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