police and shotguns.

[SEAN3513 7]

just found this on another site

 

this is a press release from the solicitors.

 

interesting !!

 

 

24.09.09

 

Shotgun case shows police need more understanding of legitimate shooting

 

A case in which a man out pigeon shooting had his shotguns confiscated by police and was later summonsed for shooting too close to the highway was today (Sept 24) abandoned after a judge questioned whether the prosecution was in the public interest.

 

Prosecutors decided to offer no evidence against 19-year-old Dale Barnard after Judge Daniel Curtis, sitting in a pre-trial hearing at Scunthorpe Magistrates Court, urged them to think again about the case.

 

Mr Barnard, of Winteringham, Lincolnshire, was awarded full costs and the judge observed that any delay by the police in returning his guns would be “more than churlish†.

 

After the case, Mr Barnard’s lawyers, Bridge McFarland Solicitors, called for police officers to be better trained and informed when dealing with legitimate shooters in the countryside.

 

Bridge McFarland consultant solicitor Stephen Ede said Mr Barnard’s treatment appeared to many people involved in shooting to be heavy-handed and showed a lack of understanding by police of legitimate shooting sports and rural pursuits.

 

He said: “Six months ago, Mr Barnard was approached by a local police officer while shooting pigeon in a field of oilseed rape near his home. The police woman informed him that it was an offence to shoot within 50ft of the highway and confiscated both of his guns and his shotgun certificate.

 

“Mr Barnard was eventually summonsed for an offence contrary to section 161 of the 1980 Highways Act, which prohibits shooting within 50ft of a road. However, the act makes it clear that an offence is only committed if someone is injured, interrupted or put in danger and that certainly did not happen in this case. In an important agricultural county like Lincolnshire, sports shooting and vermin control are part of rural life and Mr Barnard was charged with an offence and threatened with permanent loss of his shotgun licence simply for controlling pests.â€

 

Mr Ede said there was a widespread view in the shooting community that many police officers tended to assume that anyone carrying a gun in the countryside was in the wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

“The owners and keepers of shotguns and other legal firearms are rightly under a moral and legal obligation to take all reasonable safety precautions and to keep their guns secure at all times,†he said. “However, people who shoot legally either for sport or for vermin control should not have to feel that the police are, for some reason, hostile to their legitimate activities.

 

“Accidents in shooting are rare and both serious and minor injuries are much less common than in many other sports so any potential danger from shooting needs to be kept in perspective.

 

“In this case, Mr Barnard was put under extreme pressure by the police to accept a caution, both directly and indirectly through his mother and the owner of the land on which he was shooting. I am delighted that he accepted my strong advice that he should stick to his guns.

 

“Shooters who fall foul of the police but believe they have done nothing wrong should never accept a caution if they want to keep their licences. Accepting a caution is an admission of guilt and, whatever an individual officer might say at the time, there is every chance that it will later be used as a reason for revoking or refusing a firearms licence.â€

 

Mr Barnard said he was delighted that the case against him had been dropped but shocked by the way his case had been handled by the police.

 

“They did not show me that they respect or understand sporting shooters,†he said. “I got the impression that the officer involved did not like any shooting.

 

“I had only just pulled into the field when the officer drove by and I was probably still a bit too close to the road. However, I was facing away from the road and no-one was in any danger. I have only held my shotgun certificate for two years so I would never do anything to jeopardise it. The incident was blown out of all proportion and I am now delighted it’s over and looking forward to getting my guns back.â€

 

 

cheers

 

sean