“YOU can’t legislate against someone going mad – no law on earth would have stopped him.”

These are the views of Dorset gun expert Geof Hermsen after watching the horror of the massacre in Whitehaven on Wednesday.

Mr Hermsen, the chairman of Christchurch and Parkstone Gun Clubs, said he was horrified to see the tragedy unfold.

But he urged the public and the government against a “knee-jerk reaction” to the deaths.

Middle-aged taxi driver Derrick Bird left a trail of destruction after going on a rampage with two guns, killing 12 and injuring many others. The 52-year-old finally turned the gun on himself.

The killing spree brought back memories of the Dunblane tragedy in 1996 when Thomas Watt Hamilton killed 16 children and their teacher at a Scotland primary school before committing suicide.

And 27-year-old gun fanatic Michael Ryan also murdered 16 people, including his mother and his neighbours, when he went on a shooting rampage in Hungerford, Berkshire in 1987.

Tighter laws surrounding shooting and gun ownership were introduced after both the earlier incidents but Mr Hermsen said the restrictions have failed to keep people safe.

“The current laws are adequate and the discipline within gun clubs is very strict and exact” he told the Daily Echo. “We run a very tight ship and there are measures in place to ensure unsuitable people cannot buy shotguns or firearms.

“There is nothing that could be done to stop someone like Derrick Bird. You can’t plan for people losing their minds and if he hadn’t had a firearm he would probably have mowed people down in his taxi instead.”

Mr Hermsen said anyone wanting to buy a shotgun has to show good cause why they need it, such as farmers for pest control. They must be interviewed by a police officer and must demonstrate they have adequate security to store the weapon.

Those who want to buy firearms face even tighter controls. At Christchurch and Parkstone clubs, they must apply and be backed by two referees.

They are then interviewed by three committee members and, if successful, attend a safety course before embarking on a three-month probation period.

Their actions are then closely monitored through at least 10 shoots at a range and a full committee meeting is held at the end of the three-month period where they are either accepted or declined. Only then can they apply for a licence.

“At any point they can be asked to leave if there are any concerns” said Mr Hermsen. “If they are not accepted, we notify police and other clubs of our worries.”

Mr Hermsen said any new laws would spoil enjoyment of the sport of shooting, taken seriously by many thousands of people across the country.

But there are already calls for an overhaul of Britain’s gun laws. Military hero Doug Beattie, who won the Military Cross in Afghanistan, said gun owners should undergo an annual psychological assessment.

He added: “I do not see any requirement for gun ownership except for specific businesses. Sporting guns should be held in a centralised location, such as a sporting club.”

From April 1 last year until March 31 this year 14,717 gun licence certificates were issued by Dorset police. Nine gun licence certificates were refused and 28 revoked.

So far this year there have been 474 firearms related incidents across the county including the use of air weapons, BB guns and imitation weapons.

Last year there were 1,157 incidents, compared to 1,242 in 2008. A Dorset police spokesman stressed that the majority of incidents do not involve gun licence certificate holders.