Air gun owners in Essex are being warned about new laws, which could now see illegal possession punished with a five-year prison sentence.
From last week, it is now an offence to manufacture, sell, buy, transfer or acquire any air weapon using a self-contained gas cartridge system.
Anyone who owns such a firearm will only be able to keep it if they obtain a firearm certificate from police before May 1. Alternatively, existing owners can hand their weapon into police for disposal before that date.
The ban, agreed by Parliament as part of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, applies to any air weapon that uses a self-contained gas cartridge system and the most common manufacturers of these are Brocock, Saxyby and Palmer and Umarex and Uberti.
Firearms office manager Mick Fidgeon said: "This is a significant piece of legislation that will affect many people and we will be taking all possible steps to make people aware of the changes over the coming weeks."
Published Monday January 26, 2004
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