Simon Martin, aged 38, has been fined £220 and ordered to pay court costs and a victim surcharge after pleading guilty to trespassing on land with an air weapon. Martin was found with a Gamo air rifle on land in Westhide, Herefordshire in December 2023. The air rifle has been seized and will be destroyed.

After police officers carried out a warrant at a property in Portsmouth, Hampshire, two men were charged with conspiring to sell or transfer prohibited weapons and conspiring to sell or transfer ammunition. Click on media link to read full report.

Ambulance staff alerted police after a car deliberately rammed their ambulance while they were responding to an emergency call in Bexleyheath, East London. The car was later found in Erith and the male driver was arrested on suspicion of assaulting emergency workers, dangerous and disqualified driving, drug-driving, uninsured driving, and causing criminal damage to the ambulance. After three firearms, ammunition and Class A and Class B drugs were found at an address linked to the suspect, he was further arrested on suspicion of firearms possession and intent to supply drugs.

During a weekend of action designed to tackle organised crime groups, police officers raided a home in Birmingham, West Midlands and recovered a suspected handgun, cash and drugs. Two men and a woman were arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm. At a second raid at a property in Northfield, officers discovered a suspected improvised firearm and arrested a man on suspicion of possession of a firearm and possession of a bladed article. A third weapon was found when officers responding to a car key burglary in Great Barr recovered what appeared to be a handgun from a suspect's bag. He was arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary and possession of a firearm.

Armed police were deployed following a report of three men carrying suspected firearms in Sittingbourne, Kent. After stopping the suspects’ vehicle, the officers seized an imitation firearm, a balaclava and a face mask. Three men were arrested on suspicion of possessing firearms with intent.

Kane Stewart, aged 18, has been jailed for 21 weeks for possession of a knife, with concurrent sentences of twelve weeks for possession of an imitation firearm, four weeks for possession of cannabis and four weeks for failing to surrender to bail. In January 2024, Kane was found carrying a BB gun, a knife and 6.71g of cannabis in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. He was also ordered to pay £85 in costs and a £154 surcharge, and a forfeiture and destruction order was made for the weapons and drugs.

John Smeadley, aged 56, has been fined £800 and ordered to complete 60 hours of unpaid work after admitting to being in possession of a Texan Air Rifle Lethal Load weapon without authority and using it to kill a deer without permission in Morham, East Lothian in April 2023. After Smeadley tried to claim the shooting deer was considered “acceptable” in the area, the sherfiff told him, “…I can tell you that it's certainly not acceptable to poach these animals.” Smeadley’s firearm and ammunition will be forfeited.

David Shoubridge, aged 35, has been jailed for eight years after admitting robbery, attempted robbery, possession of a firearm, possession of an imitation firearm, theft, going equipped for theft and attempted theft. Between November 2022 and July 2023, Shoubridge robbed betting shops and service stations armed with what looked like a handgun. Starting at a bookmaker’s in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, Shoubridge went on to steal a total of around £100,000 from various premises, sometimes using an angle grinder and crowbar to break into cash payout machines. His DNA was found on the magazine of a BB pistol recovered after one robbery and he was eventually arrested while carrying out another offence. The court heard that one victim, a 20-year-old woman, felt “genuine terror” while Shoubridge stood above her and pointed a gun at her. The robbery “changed her life completely”, causing her to leave her job and defer her university place. Shoubridge’s offending was said to be caused by drug and gambling habits.

A person attended a hospital after being shot in the leg at the property in Gloucester, Gloucestershire. No arrests have yet been made.

Following reports that a 4x4 vehicle containing firearms had been stolen from land in Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, police officers arrested three teenage boys. The vehicle and firearms were recovered.