MPs today demanded urgent action be taken after it was revealed just FOUR people were refused renewal of a gun certificate from a staggering 4,590 applicants in Lancashire.

And police admitted it was impossible to check every single application in person as figures showed only three per cent of requests for new firearms and shotgun certificates were turned down in the county.

Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson said "These figures are deeply worrying. It's quite horrifying that you can have a licence automatically renewed as easy as getting your car tax.

"Every application for a licence and the renewal of certificates should be individually vetted by the police. We need to look into a way of bringing this into operation as soon as possible.

"The figures are even more distressing when you think about the tragic events in Dunblane."

And Hyndburn MP Greg Pope said: "The whole system is antiquated and needs a complete overhaul.

"We've been rather shamed by the Australian government who took immediate action following the tragedy in Tasmania.

"There are certain people, such as farmers, who need guns, but there is no need for an ordinary member of the public to possess a gun in their home."

Figures for Lancashire show that 230 new firearm certificates and 541 new shotgun certificates were issued in 1995.

Just 21 new shotgun applications and four new firearm certificates were refused.

The figures bring the total number of weapons in Lancashire to 36,537 which are covered by 16,441 certificates.

Police fear that the same number of un-authorised weapons could also be at large. Shadow Home Secretary Jack Straw today called for tough new legislation in the wake of shocking new Home Office statistics and the Dunblane massacre.

Nationally, police forces turned down just 1 per cent of applications for new firearms and shotgun certificates last year.

The number of firearms certificates in circulation in Lancashire increased by 1 per cent.

Mr Straw said: "These figures confirm the need for much tighter controls on the issue of certificates.

"The police themselves are convinced that many more than 1% of applicants should be turned down but they don't have the power to do it at the moment.

"The onus should be on the applicant to show why they need a gun, rather than the police to show why they don't."

A Lancashire police spokesman said that any postal renewal application which arouses the slightest suspicion is checked by one of 200 qualified officers in the county.

Sources say it would be impossible to check every single application under current circumstances.

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