STEPHEN LEWIS looks at a new campaign to cut down on the illegal use of airguns by teenagers and asks, is it enough?

YOU only have to look at headlines from the Evening Press to realise that in the hands of the wrong person, an airgun can be a dangerous weapon. Last October, two people - a woman and a young boy on a bicycle - were injured in Clifton when they were shot by youths with an air rifle.

In August, a teenager terrified a group of youths in South Milford, near Selby, by firing five shots into the air, and in December, vandals armed with what police described as a 'high-powered weapon' - thought to be either an air rifle or a catapult - smashed 26 windows at a Northfield school in Acomb.

Usually the culprits are trigger-happy teens who think taking pot-shots at moving targets with their 'toy' guns is fun. But not always.

Inexperienced adults can have accidents with the weapons too. In 1998 York man Paul Roach accidentally shot his wife Michelle in the chest when practising firing his new air rifle at a target in the garden of the couple's Clifton home. The bullet went through the kitchen window and missed Michelle's heart by a quarter of an inch. She was taken to hospital and later recovered.

Then there are the young hooligans who think it is clever to shoot at cats and other pets. Every year, thousands of animals are killed or injured by youths toting airguns, the RSPCA says. Often they are loved family pets - animals such as Smudge, a cat belonging to Gillian Charlton of Ampleforth, who was shot in the face with an air pistol last year. The pellet lodged in the cat's face, damaging her eye and dislocating her jaw. The animal later recovered.

With such a catalogue of accidents and casual cruelty, it's not surprising there are moves to crack down on the inappropriate use of air weapons, especially among teenagers.

The RSPCA is backing a private members bill calling for the legal age of use of low-powered air weapons to be raised from 14 to 18.

Not everybody believes tougher laws are the best way forward. Today, a new campaign was launched by the gun lobby itself, aimed at cutting down on misuse of weapons by encouraging better training and more responsibility.

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), which describes itself as the 'voice of shooting', says it believes in the right to 'shoot legitimately', whether as a field sport or down your local gun club. But it agrees something needs to be done.

It resists attempts to raise the age of legal use of an air weapon, pointing out the UK already has some of the toughest gun laws in Europe. Instead, it claims the way forward is through better training, and through enforcement of existing laws.

BASC spokesman Jeffrey Olstead said today: "The laws covering air weapons are very strict and carry severe penalties, but often they are difficult to enforce.

"Youngsters who take pot shots at the neighbour's cat need to discover that getting a criminal record is much less exciting than taking part in a challenging sport in which Britain excels at Olympic level."

In its campaign launched today, the BASC says it aims to promote a greater awareness of the law, publicise the basic principles of safe, responsible shooting, and provide more opportunities for young people to train with qualified instructors. With the support of the Association of Chief Police Officers, it has launched a new code of practice for airgun shooting which it hopes will be widely distributed and given away with every new gun bought.

The code gives an outline of relevant gun law, advice on care and maintenance and safe use of guns, and the most important rule of gun handling: "Never point a gun, loaded or unloaded, in an unsafe direction."

Sensible advice. But is BASC's approach of better training and stricter enforcement of existing law enough? Or should the age at which a young person can legally use an air rifle unsupervised be raised, as the RSPCA wants?

York Railway Institute Rifle and Pistol Club has one evening a week on its shooting range dedicated to the use of air rifles and pistols, where new members can be instructed in use of the weapons by experienced instructors.

"You need proper training with any kind of weapon," said a spokesman. "People think you can just take a gun, point it and pull the trigger. They don't realise there is a lot of skill involved in using any sort of weapon."

It was very important, therefore, that younger people with an interest in air weapons and firearms should have access at proper gun clubs to qualified training, said the spokesman. But he agreed there was a genuine debate about whether 14 was too young.

Only teenagers 16 or older were normally allowed at the RI club and he agreed he could 'see the sense' in saying that younger teenagers should only be allowed access to air weapons under close supervision.

That comes close to endorsing the RSPCA's point of view. The organisation investigated 780 airgun attacks on animals last year - and believes that may be only the tip of the iceberg. The private members bill on the use of airguns it is backing is due to get its delayed second reading in parliament in May.

RSPCA chief superintendent Kevin Degenhard said: "Animals can suffer horrific, slow deaths from people deliberately shooting at them with airguns.

"We believe airgun abuse is a problem predominantly among youngsters and this bill provides the ideal opportunity to make sure that children as young as 14 can't use airguns without supervision."

BASC has made much of police support for its campaign - and officers in North Yorkshire today confirmed that they welcomed it. Force spokesman Tony Lidgate said anything which could encourage the more responsible use of air weapons was good news.

But that doesn't mean police wouldn't support a change in the law, too.

"Modern air weapons can be literally lethal," said Mr Lidgate. "There are some very powerful weapons out there. They have gone way beyond the toys of childhood memories where you could just about hit a tin can from ten feet.

"Weapons are getting more powerful and accurate. They are evolving. And it is a good thing from time to time to review the laws."

- If you are interested in air weapons and would like proper instruction, the Railway Institute Rifle and Pistol Club can be contacted through the Railway Institute on 01904 624383.

Laws on airguns:

- Young people over 14 and under 17 are not allowed to buy or hire an air rifle, but they are allowed to borrow one or be given one as a gift by somebody over 17.

- Under-17s are not allowed to buy ammunition, but can have it bought for them.

- Teenagers between 14-17 are legally allowed to use an air rifle without supervision but only on private property. It is illegal to have an air rifle in a public place without good reason.

Updated: 10:33 Thursday, January 31, 2002