HOME Office figures released this week showed gun crime on the streets of Hampshire has almost doubled, with 97 offences recorded last year. Crime reporter SARAH COLE takes a look behind the statistics...

ALL bearing guns. The words conjure up images of a harmless toy, something given as a stocking filler at Christmas.

But BB guns, as they are commonly known, have been blamed for a dramatic rise in gun crime across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Incidents involving BB guns are now recorded with firearm offences for the first time - leading to a rise from 58 offences in 2001/02 to 97 in 2002/03.

More than a third - 37 cases - involved supposedly innocent BB guns.

The plastic guns can be bought from many high street gunsmiths for upwards of £15 or picked up on the Continent for as little as £3.

Modern technology means a gun can also be bought quickly and easily over the Internet - a potentially lethal weapon delivered direct to your door, no questions asked.

A Daily Echo survey this week found a massive range of BB guns for sale on gun websites, with some firms throwing in free packets of 1,000 reusable pellets.It is all too easy.

For little more than the price of a CD, someone can purchase a deadly-looking weapon.

One website boasts that its BB guns look and feel "just like the real thing".

Advertising a 120mm-long Colt BB gun costing £22, the sales patter reads: "The kind of gun you often find hidden in the garter of a leggy blonde in a Bond movie, or stuffed down the sock of Bond himself.

"The removeable magazine holds 15 bullets and falls from the handle like the real thing."

Another lethal looking mini-BB fully automatic assault rifle reads: "Now this is fun. Fires an unbelievable 120 rounds per minute, which spells quite a frightening buzz, especially when using two guns at the same time."

It is a far cry from little boys shooting at tin cans in the backyard.

BB guns have been known to kill pet cats and seriously injure children.

Looking no different from a real gun, they have also been used to imitate real firearms in robberies.

Nationally, statistics show the majority of airgun crimes are committed by teenagers.

Hampshire police are hoping tougher gun laws introduced this week will help reduce the number of firearm incidents officers have to deal with.

The new legislation, introduced under the Anti-social Behaviour Act, makes it illegal for anyone to have an airgun or imitation weapon in a public place without reasonable excuse.

It also becomes an offence for any unsupervised person aged 14 to 17 to fire air weapon pellets beyond the boundaries of private land.

Assistant Chief Constable Simon Cole said: "Air weapons and imitation firearms can be very difficult to tell apart from real guns and in the wrong hands can be used in antisocial behaviour and crime.

"We welcome the new laws, which will help to prevent people from misusing these weapons, while still allowing responsible people to use them appropriately."

Roger Vincent, spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, appealed for parents to be vigilant.

"Even if someone is using a BB gun in a backyard, they have to be aware the pellet could ricochet and damage a neighbouring property or person," he said.

"Children need to understand the risks involved and parents need to act responsibly and make sure any guns of this kind are stored safely and in accordance with the law."

Research in the United States has shown that BB guns given as toys or "beginner" guns can cause irreversible physical damage to children.

A seven-year study by experts at Ohio State University found high-powered BB guns could cause permanent visual and neurological disabilities.

Out of 42 youngsters hospitalised with air gun injuries, half underwent surgery. Thirteen children had permanent visual disabilities.

Donna Caniano(CORR), associate professor of surgery and paediatrics, said: "When people now 35 to 50 years old played with BB guns years ago, they didn't get so severely injured.

"Now these 'toys' are really weapons. In young bodies, air gun wounds are serious injuries."

Figures released as part of the British Crime Survey this week show there are now five gun crimes for every 100,000 Hampshire residents.

The figure, although lower than the England and Wales average of 20, has prompted calls from Hampshire MPs for more to be done to tackle gun crime.

Winchester MP Mark Oaten, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: "We can argue forever over statistics but it is clear gun crime and violent crime is growing.

"One in four people are now likely to have a crime committed against them.

"The Government must get a grip in Hampshire by getting police officers out of the station where they are filling in forms.

"Police officers pounding the streets and catching criminals must be a priority."

Conservative MP Mark Hoban, who represents Fareham, said he was "horrified" by the rise in gun crime.

"People will be astonished that Hampshire - which people consider a safe area - has seen gun crime nearly double in one year," he said.

"Gun crime has always been a scourge of inner city areas.

"The fact it is now spreading to Hampshire, and the rate of that increase, is a huge cause for concern for all of us.

"We need to see tougher action being taken to stamp this out."

Mr Hoban pledged to write to Home Secretary David Blunkett about his worries.

FACTFILE

BB guns are replica guns which fire small ball bearings usually around 3mm in diameter.

Although seen as toys, many are indistinguishable from real weapons unless you hold them and examine their workings.

The guns can be bought relatively easily and legally in the UK.

High-velocity BB guns cause an average of four deaths per year in America.

New laws, which came into force on Tuesday, make it an offence to possess an airgun or imitation weapon in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.

It also becomes an offence for unsupervised people aged 14 to 17 to fire air weapon pellets beyond the boundaries of private land on which they have permission to shoot.

The legislation also makes it illegal for people aged 14 to 17 to carry an air weapon or ammunition in a public place. This includes weapons carried in secure covers.

Finally, it becomes an offence to make, buy, sell or otherwise transfer ownership of self-contained gas cartridge weapons.