A campaign being run by the Yorkshire Evening Post has gathered momentum with some high profile backing.

The Ban The Fake Firearms campaign was launched after a big increase in crime in West Yorkshire involving replica guns.

Between 1998 and 2000, offences involving imitation firearms almost doubled in the region and according to police statistics, for the first five months of 2001, there was on average, one crime of the kind every week.

Now, the YEP wants Home Secretary David Blunkett to enforce a ban on the sale and possession of replica guns, in the same way that genuine firearms were outlawed after the Dunblane massacre.

In response, Mr Blunkett has since said that a ban would come to fruition if the difficulties of defining what a ‘fake firearm’ is are overcome.

In addition, West Yorkshire Police Service is planning to hold a replica gun amnesty next month in response to the paper’s campaign.

It will be run at police stations throughout the country so that holders of fake guns can hand in their weapons.

Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, Graham Moore, said: “This is about saving lives. The issue of replica firearms is a life or death issue and our aim is to avoid tragedies.

“The reproductions of weapons you can buy in gun shops or even toy stores now are incredible and in most cases no one can tell the difference between a real or fake firearm.”

There have recently been several cases involving armed police mistaking fake guns for real ones, including one where a psychiatric patient was shot dead in London after carrying a gun-shaped cigarette lighter.

Supporters of the ban hope that the YEP campaign can avert further tragedies.

Back to the campaigns index

Do you have a story about the regional press? Ring 0116 227 3122/3121, or
e-mail [email protected]