THE number of legally-held guns in Dorset has increased by 16 per cent in the past decade.

Figures from the Home Office show that in March this year there were 12,205 licensed firearms in the county, up from 9,906 in 2009. The number excludes shotguns, which are licensed separately.

It means there are 1,581 firearms for every 100,000 people in Dorset, an increase of 16 per cent from March 2009, when local records were first collated.

The firearm rate in Dorset is higher than that across England and Wales, where 578,000 firearms – 989 for every 100,000 people – are licensed.

A spokesman for the National Police Chiefs' Council said: "It is the responsibility of individual forces to issue firearms certificates, and there are several reasons why the number of legally-held firearms may have risen in the last decade, such as changes in legislation.

"Therefore, the increase in the number of legally-held firearms is not necessarily a cause for concern.

"The Home Office are constantly monitoring the types of weapons that are held on and off certificate and consult on changes to legislation when required.

"Only a tiny percentage, something in the region of 0.025 per cent, of legally-held firearms goes missing each year, and that is when they become a significant concern for police.

"The Home Office and local police forces provide guidance on the appropriate storage of firearms and ammunition to certificate holders and are continuing to work to ensure that this already small number of missing weapons is reduced further."

Between April 2017 and March this year there were 128 new applications for firearm licences in Dorset, of which just four were refused.

A further 547 licences were renewed and two were revoked.

In total, 3,377 valid firearm licences in Dorset cover an average of 3.6 guns each.

There are a further 24,013 licensed shotguns in the area – a slight decrease on a decade ago.

Gill Marshall-Andrews, chairman of the Gun Control Network, said society should be working towards fewer guns.

"We campaign strongly for tighter licensing laws and those have been introduced, by and large," she said.

"It is becoming more difficult to get a gun licence, so I have no idea why it has gone up.

"Unless we are going to say that nobody should have a gun – and we have never said that – you should have a good reason to own a gun, and you should be a proper person.

"The guidance is stricter and the licensing regulations, if properly applied, should mean that fewer people have a gun.

"For years and years, the shooting lobby has said that gun crime it is just a matter of illegal weapons, but it is not true to say that gun deaths are related to illegal weapons alone."

In 2016-17, the most recent year for which figures are available, there were 31 fatal shootings in England and Wales, and nearly 10,000 offences in which firearms were reported to have been used, of which 44 were in Dorset.

Many, but not all, gun crimes involve the use of illegal firearms, either weapons converted to fire live ammunition or restored antiques.