Seven-year-olds given gun licences

Children as young as seven have been issued with shotgun certificates, data released under the Freedom of Information Act has revealed. The figures showed 13 children under the age of 10 have been issued with licences in the UK over the past three years.

Gloucestershire police approved a licence for a seven-year-old and West Mercia and Cumbria granted one to an eight-year-old. Between 2008 and 2010, 7,071 licences were issued to under-18s, the BBC found.