THE fact that the West Mercia region has one of the lowest gun crime rates in the country is good news for everyone that lives there.

What is not quite so welcome, however, is the fact that the region saw an increase in gun-related crimes of 29 per cent from 2003 to 2004.

Almost a third more gun-related incidents is a substantial rise - especially when the UK as a whole only saw a five per cent increase over the same period.

Guns, it would seem, are now as much a part of our society as elsewhere across the UK and it would be wrong to pretend otherwise.

Formerly, it would have been easy to dismiss such crimes as being confined to a large number of incidents perpetrated by a small number people in very small areas.

Shootings and other violent attacks are regular occurrences in inner-city parts of Birmingham, London, Manchester and other big cities.

But the largest urban areas in the West Mercia region are Worcester, Redditch and Telford.

A few years ago, gun crimes in these communities would have been unthinkable. But they are creeping in.

More needs to be done in our schools and colleges to educate our youngsters on the dangers of firearms.

To ignore this problem now would be to store up trouble for the future.

We should not be sticking our heads in the sand.