MERSEYSIDE MPs stepped up their bid to ban ball bearing guns after new figures showed an increase in gun crime.
The latest statistics show violent crime is continuing to rise, with more youngsters and criminals using " alternative" weapons including replica guns, air pistols and the ball bearing firing guns.
Wirral West MP Stephen Hesford has been leading the campaign for a BB gun ban since his constituent David Hazel was left paralysed from the waist down after a ball bearing ruptured his spine.
He said: "Urgent action needs to be taken now to ban these dangerous weapons.
"My constituent suffered horribly because these guns are too freely available." In the 12 months to last April Merseyside police recorded 483 gun crimes, excluding air weapons and imitation firearms, up from 318 the previous year.
Yesterday's July- September national figures showed a 15% fall in the use of handguns, but a 48% rise in the use of imitation firearms and a 41% increase in the use of weapons categorised as "other firearms" which include BB guns.
General firearms offences rose by 5% in the year to September, while overall violent crime jumped by 6%.
West Derby MP Bob Wareing said: "I hope that these figures will push the Home Office into responding to pressure from MPs by banning BB guns."
Riverside's Louise Ellman said: "There should be a clampdown on those who use firearms and efforts to take weapons, including BB guns and air pistols, out of circulation.
"They are not toys, but weapons which can maim, cripple and kill."
Birkenhead MP Frank Field said: "These disappointing figures show that we have to put even greater effort into countering violent crime.
"They are linked to a fundamental change in how people's behaviour, a lack of respect for one another, escalates to violent misbehaviour and gun crime.
"We have to hold the line better but we also need to tackle the root causes of anti-social behaviour amongst young people and the irresponsible behaviour of adults."
The Home Office said that ministers are monitoring the growth of incidents involving BB guns and an internal report considering current regulations will be published in the next few months.
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