Police revoked the rights of gun owners in Lancashire more than 400 times in 13 years, new figures have revealed.

Following the recent shooting in Plymouth, police forces across England and Wales have been urged to review their firearm application processes.

Jake Davison killed five and wounded two others after having his gun licence reinstated just months after it was revoked following his involvement in a fight.

In light of the gunman's deadly attack, the Government is calling on forces to review their current vetting processes and look at whether they need to revisit existing licences.

But the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) says the process has taken too long, with a spokesman adding that the organisation had warned successive Government ministers of deadly consequences if stricter vetting processes were not implemented.

BASC is calling on the Government to introduce a statutory obligation that would see a marker included on medical notes indicating whether a patient had access to guns.

Christopher Graffius, from BASC, said: "I have been calling for this since 2013 and have told ministers that we would end up with people dead, likely women.

"It is in the shooting community's interest to ensure public safety and it is absolutely awful to see tragedies like this."

Home Office figures show Lancashire police revoked 22 licences and refused to renew three in the year to March 2021.

In the same period, the force approved 236 new applications for firearm or shotgun licences but refused permission in 13 cases.

Since 2008, when recording began, officers have approved 10,056 applications but revoked 465 licences and refused 49 applications for renewal.

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: “We take our responsibility for issuing firearms certificates extremely seriously and will only do so after an application has been assessed by a dedicated team of experts, a robust process of background checks is completed and the individual meets criteria set out in the Home Office’s national legislation.

“If a certificate holder has a change of circumstances that mean they no longer have good reason to own a firearm or a change in suitability, for example if they become involved in criminality or there is a health-related issue, then their certificate can be revoked “Our processes are regularly reviewed to ensure that anybody who is granted a firearms certificate in Lancashire is held to the highest standard of conduct.”

A firearms certificate can be revoked for several reasons, including if a holder presents a danger to the public, is of "intemperate habits or unsound mind", no longer has a good reason to possess a firearm or has failed to comply with conditions under which the certificate is held.

The data shows that more than 560,000 people across England and Wales held shotgun or firearm licences in March, including 11,924 in Lancashire.

The Government is now preparing to publish statutory guidance in an effort to ensure "greater consistency and higher standards" of decision making around firearms licensing.

Changes are likely to include greater scrutiny of an applicant's internet and social media use.

Gill Marshall-Andrews of the Gun Control Network said most licensed gun owners were law abiding, adding: "But what is clear is that the more guns there are in circulation the greater the chance of an atrocity like this one in Plymouth.

"We need much more oversight of gun owners in this country."

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Incidents such as Thursday’s horrific events in Plymouth are thankfully rare, but their impact is profound, not only on those directly affected but on the public as a whole.

"We constantly assess what sensible and proportionate steps we can take to help prevent such terrible loss of life happening."