Licensing link dismissed

Police have denied claims that a 61-year-old disabled man who shot at police before turning his gun on himself was refusing to surrender his weapons following a review of his shotgun licence.

Barry Horspool, whose body was found after a 12-hour stand-off with armed police in the Lincolnshire village of Sutton St James, was described by neighbours as a former farm labourer who enjoyed shooting game and pigeon.

However, a Lincolnshire Police spokesman told Shooting Times that police officers were not at Mr Horspool?s address to seize his guns and that they were called to the house ?after reports of a man making threats with a firearm.?

She said: ?There were plenty of things that were said on the day about us being there to remove his weapons because of licensing issues, but there is no foundation in that at all. We don?t know where that particular piece of speculation came from.?

The rest of this article appears in the 8th February issue of Shooting Times.

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