There is now one legal gun for every 24 people in Derbyshire - the highest figure on record.

The county's gun owners have licences to keep 43,486 shotguns, rifles and other guns between them.

This is equivalent to one gun for every 24.1 people in the county - the highest rate since the Home Office records began in 2008/09.

Back then there was one gun for every 25.9 people.

Derbyshire has one of the highest ratios of legal guns to people in England and Wales, with the national average being one gun for every 30.1 people.

There were 527 new shotgun certificates and 193 firearms certificates granted in Derbyshire in 2017/18.

Meanwhile police revoked 25 licences in the county last year.

A generic image of a shotgun

In order to get a shotgun or firearm certificate, you need to fill in an application form.

It can be downloaded online or you can get it from the shotgun licensing unit of your local police force.

The cost is £79.50 for a new application or £49 for a renewal.

A shotgun certificate is valid for five years.

The police need to be sure that you won't be a danger to public safety.

In order to satisfy this, the police will check any previous convictions.

The applicant must declare any health conditions that may affect the ability to possess and use a firearm or shotgun safely.

These include epilepsy, stroke, stress-related illness, depression, alcoholism, heart disease, and cancer.

Police will also ask for details of where your gun is to be stored.

The applicant also needs one reference.

Once the first step is passed, the police will visit the house of the applicant, for a chat and to check where the gun will be stored.

There are 1.9m legal guns in England and Wales, 1.4m of which are shotguns and the remainder other firearms.

A typical gun owner's licence covers multiple weapons - three shotguns and at least two other firearms were the average.

Across England and Wales, 586,583 people held a firearm or a shotgun

Men represent 94 per cent of gun owners, and the most common age to hold a licence was 50 to 64.

What else have the police been dealing with?

One of the police cars at the scene

- Residents outraged by nighttime violence in Mickleover.





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