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Youngsters granted gun licenses
Youngsters granted a gun licence
WIGAN youngsters as young as 13 have been granted a gun licence.
Figures obtained by the Wigan Observer reveal that last year a 13-year-old was granted a shotgun certificate in Wigan, along with two 14-year-olds, one 16-year-old and two 17-year-olds.
The previous year, in 2009, Greater Manchester Police granted two 13-year-olds shotgun certificates.
A 15-year-old and three 17-year-olds were also issued licences to use guns.
Meanwhile, a 16-year-old was granted a firearm certificate last year, which is more difficult to obtain, as the weapon fires bullets as opposed to cartridges or blanks, used in shotguns.
Overall, there are currently 1,754 shotgun certificates held by adults and under 18s within the Wigan borough and 445 firearm certificates held.
Last year, there were 675 shotgun certificate applications granted and 169 firearm certificate applications in the borough. Greater Manchester Police refused five shotgun licences and one firearm application.
In 2009, there were 274 shotgun certificate applications granted, with a further 110 firearm certificate applications granted.
Six people were refused shotgun certificates and one person was not able to possess a firearm certificate.
Each licence costs £50 and lasts five years but can be withdrawn if the police discover anything that suggests possessing the shotgun or firearm would cause a danger to the public.
A spokesman from Greater Manchester Police said that all applicants undergo rigorous background and criminal checks and licences are issued for controlled sporting or farming occasions.
Jim Jones, GMP’s firearms and explosives licensing manager, said: “Rigorous background and criminal record checks are carried out on everyone who applies for a shotgun certificate.
“If an application is made for a certificate by a child, we visit the family home to interview him or her in the presence of their parents or guardian to establish that the request is genuine and reasonable.
“In the case of young persons rigorous checks are also undertaken in respect of those persons who would be supervising. “An example of when a child may be issued with a shotgun certificate would be if a parent or guardian wanted to take them clay-pigeon shooting.
“Ideally, the parent or guardian would also have a certificate, but this is not essential.” He added that children under 15 cannot have in their possession an assembled shotgun or ammunition unless under the supervision of a responsible adult of 21 years or over.
Children under 18 cannot purchase or hire any shotgun or ammunition and youths under 14 cannot have a firearm certificate.
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Comments
There are 13 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
pikeman
Monday, June 6, 2011 at 06:18 PMits not these guns we should be reporting on its the illegal gun culture we have adopted from the good old USA we should be focusing on!
rockcottage
Friday, June 3, 2011 at 04:24 PMI've just been firing my gun at a target in our works yard. Nobody else near or on premises. I'm using a device that captures the pellets. Its only a BB hand gun powered by gas, but I was shocked to see the damage it caused to the target. The BBs went through 8 layers of thick industrial cardboard and still travelled on. If my BB gun can do so much damage, the idea of a shotgun in the hands of any body makes my bloold run cold. Even this BB gun can kill.
jamesjoseph
Friday, June 3, 2011 at 12:36 PMHas comment no 2 never heard of the chap that killed all those people in cumberland ,i believe it was the 12 month anniversary earlier this week.I think his name was derek bird and he belonged to a gun club but it doesn't seem like he took it all in being taught to shoot in a safe and responsible manner.
Steppenwolf
Friday, June 3, 2011 at 05:51 AM"People under 18 should never be allowed to handle guns. End of. This is ridiculous!" People under 18 are quite capable and mature to handle guns, it teaches responsibility, maturity and it's in the British tradition. Who are you to want to change somebody's heritage and tradition?
Lomra Greener
Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 01:22 PMI would far rather see a firearm in the hands of a responsible teenager than an irresponsible adult. The problem is not so much granting certificates based on age as the granting of certificates without a proper profile (including mental) of the potential user.
rockcottage
Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 01:09 PMAs I see it...and I used to shoot in a rifle club. Guns should be outlawed totally. I saw many people in the clubs that stated it was a great hobby but change their attitude later on into "where can I go to kill animals, I'm bored with shooting at targets" What are guns made for? What is their true use? To kill or maim. Therefore they should never be in the hands of the public. I've seen normally decent and sane people change once they held a weapon. Eyes glaze over.... Best thing is to stop making bullets, then no one will get killed!
JemmyH
Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 11:13 AMMistress Ploppy, when the article says Wigan, it doesn't mean 'Wigan'. It refers to an area governed by a local authority or having mail delivered from Wigan sorting office. A Metropolitan Borough or a WN postcode address. --- Much of the area is rural and there are many farms and large estates (not council estates or housing estates) located there. -- The impression some people may get, from the article's generalising, of teenagers walking down King Street or Wallgate, carrying a shotgun is wrong. --- The truth is that these teenagers might be seen driving a large tractor, pulling a trailer full of bales, at weekends or in school holidays. They'll not be your average 'kid'. --- There's also the fact that anyone who's likely to use a gun for criminal purposes are not going to have it registered to their name.
SWEET_FA
Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 08:34 AMGuns are great. 13 year olds with shotgun licenses are probably 10 times more responsable than you idiots blurting rubbish about wild animals, driving cars, having sex or 3 year olds being able to grab a kitchen knife when you're not looking. Also, Gun safety should be taught at an early age when a childs mind can still be moulded, not at 25 when all the damage has been done and the persons' mind has already been screwed up.
Mistress Ploppy
Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 08:27 AMIrrespective of the rights and wrongs of shooting ability and gun ownership, for exactly what purpose does anyone in Wigan or anywhere else for that matter need a shotgun? I'm failing to see the danger from predatory wild animals that such a weapon may protect somebody from.
Scarecrow
Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 06:25 AMYou cannot drive a car till you are 17 or get married till you are 16 but you can have a license for a lethal weapon at 13. How stupid is this country?
gladiator
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at 10:26 PMI see Baron Von Thunderclap beat me to it with his absurd knee-jerk comment. Obviously not a thought in his head.
gladiator
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at 10:24 PMIs this really front page news? It begs the comment: So what? Is the suggestion that there are young people walking the streets of Wigan with shotguns or rifles at the ready, shooting at everything and everyone in sight? I have been a shotgun certificate holder for 30 years and a firearms certificate holder for about 20 years. My son and daughter were both taught firearms safety by myself, as I was by my father and grandfather. They respect guns. I have lived in villages for almost all my life and I have seen young men go astray, but none of them came from a family where firerams were held and respect for guns was taught. To hold a 'gun licence' and learn to shoot is a damn good way of instilling a sense of responsibility in any young person, especially young men. Unfortunately, most people in this nanny state get all their information about guns from Hollywood where, if a gun is seen, we know it will be misused. Add to this the demonisation of all guns by the news media and you have a potent mix which creates mass ignorance on the subject. Apart from all this, the story is old. It was done to death in the national press and has been repeated in quiet moments by the regional press and broadcasters in various locations over the past six months. I believe tonight's front page splash is lazy journalism which seeks to sensationalise the fact that some young people in Wigan and the GM Police area have decided to take part in Britain's fastest -growing sport, one in which the UK consistently shines at Commonwealth and Olympic level.
Baron Von Thunderclap
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at 10:15 PMPeople under 18 should never be allowed to handle guns. End of. This is ridiculous!
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