There are many legitimate reasons why people apply for a shooting licence. Many people take part in sporting activities such as competitive shooting, while other people may be required to control pests or use firearms in the course of their day-to-day lives.
Young people are always interviewed with an adult when they are visited in connection with the issue of certificates and are informed that, if they get involved in any anti-social behaviour or any other type of incident, their certificates will be revoked; because of this young certificate holders tend to be better behaved than most.
It is in the interests of safety that a young person who is to handle firearms should be properly taught at a relatively early age.
Northamptonshire Police expect certificate holders to behave in an extremely responsible manner and they monitor all certificate holders of any age from the day they apply for a certificate.
In cases where a young person is issued a certificate it is expected that their parents, guardian or other responsible adult will supervise the young person and take responsibility for the gun when not in use.
As a county, Northamptonshire has a very low level of gun crime, in fact most of the incidents reported to us involve BB guns or replica weapons being carried on the street. You can rest assured we aim to make the legal process of firearms licensing as thorough and robust as it can be.
Bridget Hodgson
Firearms Licensing Manager
Northamptonshire Police

Discipline from firearm training
I find it ironic that Brian Binley and Sally Keeble as MPs are responsible for making our laws and then they criticise the police for complying!
Jill Marshall Andrews, whom you quoted, only represents six people and she will not name them nor disclose the source of their finance. In recent years extensive research has been carried out in the USA into the use of firearms by young people. The result showed conclusive proof that the discipline gained stands them in good stead in all aspects of their lives thereafter.
I would strongly recommend that our politicians should concentrate their efforts in seeking to put in place very necessary facilities for our young people in order to get them off the streets and into interesting sports and hobbies.
I would like to see all schools having shooting ranges and then we would see a big reduction in illegal use of air rifles etc. It is high time we moved away from the 'nanny state' and got back to a more normal way of life.
Joe Kelly,
Sportsman's Association of G.B.& N.I.
Broomhill Hotel,
Spratton, Northampton

Shooting club's focus on safety
In response to the article Gun licences for children as young as eight (April 16), I would like to point out that there is no relationship between the world of illegal gun crime – as made prominent by inner city shootings – and the legal and responsible sporting use of guns.
The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) holds many Young Shots' days, where youngsters can try air gun and clay pigeon shooting, and we see them developing a remarkable degree of maturity.
They are very keen to learn about how to use guns safely and responsibly.
On the subject of safety, it is worth noting that shooting has one of the lowest accident rates of all sports.
BASC believes that any decision about a young person's suitability to own a gun and to apply for a shotgun certificate should be left to their parents and the police.
Young people under 18 cannot buy any kind of gun or ammunition. Children under the age of 15 who do have a shotgun certificate can be lent a shotgun but they have to be supervised by a responsible adult over the age of 21 at all times.
The people who take on the responsibility of supervising young people take safety very seriously.
To be granted a shotgun certificate, the police will consider whether the applicant, whatever their age, is likely to pose a threat to public safety and whether there is good reason to refuse it.
The police can also obtain details of their medical history and visit the applicant at home and inspect security arrangements.
If any conditions of the shotgun certificate are broken, their certificate would be revoked immediately.
Helen Shuker,
Press Officer, The British Association for Shooting and Conservation.

Where's the fair tax promised?
Petrol and diesel are going through the roof, mainly because of tax making up two-thirds of the price.
Petrol and diesel in Canada are 56p per litre, in America it is 36p per litre.
People in the UK are being ripped off by New Labour. Come next April, vehicle owners will be paying more car tax.
When New Labour got in in 1997, they gave councils 75 per cent towards council tax, now it's 65 per cent and people and pensioners are struggling to pay.
Why can't New Labour do the same as Southern Ireland and put council tax in general taxation?
Pensioners in the UK are the worst paid in the EU. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said at the party conference in 1993 that he thought means testing was disgusting, but it still goes on today.
Tony Blair said pensioners and anyone on benefit would get rises but when he got back in Government, him and Gordon Brown have put it back to 2012.
G G Varnsverry,
Welford Road, Northampton

Please take pride
I cannot believe just how bad a state the streets in the Far Cotton area have become since I first came to live in the area 20 years ago. At that time people took pride in their gardens to make them look nice and most of them still do.
However, on my walks around the estate lately I have felt sick to my stomach at the way some of the people in the area have their gardens looking like mini landfill sites.
It is not just the gardens however, it is also the streets where people still leave their bins overflowing on the pavements day after day and week after week and that is what is turning Far Cotton into a slum area.
It must be very frustrating for people who genuinely go to great lengths to keep their gardens looking like gardens and not like local tips.
Name and address supplied
but withheld by request.