cuchulainn
Member
from the This is Plymouth site
http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/dis...layContent&sourceNode=98877&contentPK=5362654
http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/dis...layContent&sourceNode=98877&contentPK=5362654
BB GUNS AT POCKET-MONEY PRICES
12:00 - 28 April 2003
It is terrifying how easy is it to get your hands on an imitation firearm, writes Herald Crime Reporter Jayne Freer. Armed with a £5 note I headed into Plymouth to hunt out a supplier.
It wasn't long before I stumbled across a batch of realistic-looking BB (ball-bearing) guns stacked alongside a girl's hair braiding kit.
After handing over my cash with no questions asked, I was armed with what could have easily been misinterpreted as a real and lethal weapon.
All for the bargain price of £3.99.
It is almost identical to that brandished by Lee Whitting when he stormed into a Colebrook shop on March 14 and robbed the terrified assistant of £250 in cash. The 32-year-old shop worker is still haunted by Whitting's acts that evening.
Currently there is no law against people owning replica guns and, unlike firearms, there is no age limit for buying BB guns - although mine had a 'Not suitable for persons under 14' warning written on the box.
During my time as crime reporter on the Evening Herald, I have reported on countless incidents of young children, pensioners and animals being shot and injured with air gun pellets.
And time and time again chief police officers have warned of the dangers of replica guns and constantly called for tougher legislation.
As the law stands people are free to walk into any airgun shop and buy a rifle for less than £100, without any kind of licence or supervision.
However, the Government is making some move towards tightening up gun laws with the illegal possession of a firearm punishable by five years in jail.
Penalties are also being increased for possession of imitation firearms or air weapons in public.
But Devon and Cornwall's Deputy Chief Constable Nigel Arnold has already warned this does not go far enough.
He says it still fails to cover BB guns which continue to be the bane of a firearms officer's life.
Each and every week, armed police squads are called to gun-related incidents, many of which turn out to be children playing with BB guns.