Police are calling for owners to make sure their weapons are being kept securely before they start home visits from tomorrow.
 
A Wiltshire police spokesman said: "Over the last five years 3,296 licensed firearms and shotguns have been reported as lost or stolen in the UK. Although that number has fallen across the years from 553 in 2009 to 415 in 2013 and represents only a tiny fraction of the number of lawfully held guns, one stolen or lost gun is still one too many."

This concern has led to an addition to the Home Office guidance that supports the police in making unannounced visits where there are concerns about security and risk.
 
Chief Constable Andy Marsh, the National Policing Lead for Firearms and Explosives Licensing, said: “Our aim is not to catch out gun owners, which is why we are giving notice that these visits will be taking place. We want to work with the shooting community to ensure gun owners are aware of how to keep their firearms secure and, where appropriate, give advice to individual owners.

"I know that the vast majority of gun owners understand their responsibility to secure firearms and in the main take this very seriously, which allows their continued lawful use for work or leisure purposes.”

“A lost or stolen firearm could end up in the hands of criminals who would pose a clear threat to the public. We want to remind gun owners to check their security measures are up to scratch so that they are not inadvertently putting people at risk.”

Members of the Firearms Licensing Team and Neighbourhood Policing Teams throughout Wiltshire will begin increasing the amount of proactive visits to firearm owners from Wednesday providing appropriate guidance and advise where necessary.

Certificate holders who are clearly not complying with security measures could face having their certificates revoked.

Crimestoppers is also launching a hotline for members of the shooting community and the general public to report any concerns about firearms.

Mary Kerr, manager of the Wiltshire Police Firearms and Explosives Licensing Department  said: “The vast majority of firearm owners throughout Wiltshire fully engage with us and are aware of their responsibilities for ensuring the safe storage of their weapons.

"However, with close to 17,000 firearm and shotgun certificate holders across the county it’s important that we continue with this proactive and effective engagement to ensure their weapons remain safe and secure.
 
“The launch of the Crimestoppers hotline will help empower people, including members of the shooting community, to voice concerns they may have around guns being kept insecurely as well as acting as an avenue for reporting any behavioural changes in fellow shooters."

Wiltshire has 3,420 registered firearms certificate holders and 13,500 registered shotgun certificate holders. There are 41,241 registered weapons in Wiltshire.