A buoyant shooting industry is a reason for celebration

Today our head of shooting, Liam Stokes, wrote to the editor of the Coventry Telegraph, in response to an article that sought to connect the number of firearms for sale in the Warwickshire area with a potential increase in gun crime - read it here.

Liam wrote: "Dear sir, we were left a little confused by your article "Over 1,200 rifles and shotguns for sale in Warwickshire for sale on gun website". Thriving economic activity supporting a great outdoor sport is something to be celebrated, not a cause for concern! "The foreword to the latest Home Office Guide on Firearms Law says "It is only in an extremely small minority of cases that legally held firearms are misused", and any glance at the evidence shows this to be true. "Instead of worrying that there are so many legally held shotguns and rifles for sale in Warwickshire, the Coventry Telegraph should be proud! Shooting generates more than £2 billion for the UK economy, and it is great news that so much of that is spent in Warwickshire. Shooting is responsible for 74,000 full time equivalent jobs and 70,000 businesses, some great examples of which are in Coventry. "Shooting is an Olympic sport in which we have had gold-medal winners and our sportmen and women are expected to excel in this summer's Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio. It is safe, fun and accessible to all people, and is particularly suited to disabled sport. It is a great sport that gets people outdoors, meeting people and enjoying themselves. Let's be pleased so much of that is going on Warwickshire. "If Ben Ecclestone, who wrote the article in question, remains concerned, I would be delighted to take him out clay pigeon shooting in Coventry area, and show him what it's all about."