Registered User
Airgun story from my neck of the woods http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2017/...aid-foula-home
Lard Armstong
He should have signed it to his father at the end of last year. Airgun licensing may be daft but it's not like it wasn't publicised. Polis Scotland, thanks to some pulling of numbers from the sky at the beginning of all this, have to look for 400,000 unlicensed air guns so they're always going to go after people like this.
Work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do
No real sympathy to be honest. The law that was introduced recently requiring a licence if you had an air rifle is something that makes absolutely no sense IMHO, but sadly its the law. Presumably this guy will now have a criminal record, what would the offence legally be titled, does anyone know?.
I am a little bit puzzled by the paragraph below and it would be interesting if there was some more information to clarify this.
"He added Gear had not got round to getting a licence at the time of the offence. Subsequent attempts to secure one had, through no fault of Gear’s, failed to prove fruitful"
Kindest regards
Barrel
IF I WALKED ON WATER PEOPLE WOULD SAY I COULD NOT SWIM !
professional hookaduck ringer
.. Mr Allan added Gear had incurred a lot of expense since the issue had come to light – not least because police caused extensive damage to his door when they entered his address
I really hope there was more to this story than meets the eye, and McPlod have not decided it is ok to go around kicking doors in because of an old air rifle in the house
That would be pathetic, but also not completely surprising. Remember as well this is another “firearms offence” for the stats and to justify yet more restrictions
Guest
there was another story that had a unlicensed airgun in it . they had went to the house to do a drugs raid . thy found drugs and an airgun. there was more interest in the airgun than the drugs in the papers story.
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/1...ollcross_home/
nother lerwick one http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/14833...lice-operation
SUSPECTED class A and B drugs and an air pistol have been recovered by police following an intelligence-led operation in Lerwick which involved seven addresses being searched.
Officers also seized a four-figure sum of cash as they carried out the operation in the town on Thursday.
A number of people are expected to be reported to the procurator fiscal, police said.
Acting police inspector Martyn Brill said: "Today's operation was instigated in response to community concerns and saw a team of officers from Highland and Islands supported by specialist officers from Aberdeen target a number of addresses in the Lerwick area by carrying out these drug searches.
"The activity will likely result in a number of individuals being reported to the procurator fiscal for misuse of drugs and firearms offences.
"Police Scotland is committed to tackling drug misuse in local communities and disrupting the supply of illegal substances.
"Anyone with concerns about drug misuse in their area should contact Police Scotland on 101, or if they wish to remain anonymous they can call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
https://stv.tv/news/west-central/137...ir-gun-seized/
"A 64 year-old woman, a 66 year-old man and a 43-year-old man will also be subject of a report to the procurator fiscal in connection with an alleged offence contrary to the Air Weapons and Licensing Scotland Act 2015."
Where's his User name?
No sympathy tbh..
He knew it was coming.
He was daft enough to be complacent and have a nemesis who would grass him in.
There were lots of nuggets during the consultation who admitted online that they would not be giving up their guns or getting a license - I hope this guy wasn't one 🙄
Jerry is right.. this is another feather in the cap for the legislation bringers....
Donald
Registered User
I do have some sympathy regarding the sentence.
There must be thousands upon thousands of unlicensed guns in Scotland which have not been handed in. Some may be used for illicit purposes in inner city areas - just like they always were.
The population of Foula is 38 FFS and it was a gun he had had since a kid 40 years ago. Well done Sherlock - must have been a really tough case to crack and now 37 people can rest easy in their beds.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foula
What a terrific fuss over absolutely nothing - the penalty should have been a caution with no fine plus confiscation (as has been said no excuse as the law is the law no matter how stupid).
I sometimes despair for humanity.
Last edited by PaulR; 27-10-2017 at 08:27 PM.
Work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do
As you say Paul when you look at the population where he lives it does seem quite incredible in that context.Originally Posted by PaulR
Kindest regards
Barrel
IF I WALKED ON WATER PEOPLE WOULD SAY I COULD NOT SWIM !
Where's his User name?
Aye that may be, but on the flip side of that coin.. whoever grasses the lad in knows that the polos has to follow it up otherwise word would get about quick that the polos is doing nothing... the poor pc probably probably got a cup of tea when he went to confiscate and read rights. In such a microcosm it's like being under a magnifying glass..once things are in motion in such a small community, it's got to be difficult to deal with things rationally
Donald
Guest
he is lucky it was only a fine he could have done jail time or community payback hours also . plus the fact if you let one off then there would be an outcry if some one else was found with one and was charged and fined or did time for it .
cant have rules for one and rules for others
Guest
this was the reason the say no to airgun licensing on facebook lost a lot of support . i know a fair few on another facebook group that gave up on the page due to idiots saying they would not license them or give them up. one even went as far as saying he would shoot at the police if they came for his guns. he was caught with a knife going to a peace demo and now advocates that the public should be allowed to assault the police . yes really . the guy is a fruit loop.
Work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do
Would this give the guy a firearms conviction on his record?, just wondered how it would show on a PNC check.he is lucky it was only a fine he could have done jail time also . plus the fact if you let one off then there would be an outcry if some one else was found with one and was charged and fined or did time for it .
cant have rules for one and rules for others
Kindest regards
Barrel
IF I WALKED ON WATER PEOPLE WOULD SAY I COULD NOT SWIM !
Guest
i think it would be a firearms offence to be honest . section 21 i think they call it .im not sure
WHAT IF I DO NOT APPLY FOR A CERTIFICATE?
It is an offence under section 2(1) of the Air Weapon and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 for a person not authorised by law, to use, possess, purchase or acquire an air weapon without holding an air weapon certificate after the 30th of December 2016.
A person who commits such an offence is liable on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine, or both. On conviction on indictment, this rises to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or a fine, or both.
Last edited by bighit; 27-10-2017 at 09:28 PM.
Work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do
Fascinating info on Foula below, don't think I could hack it.
The life of Foula
November 17, 2016
It’s hard to imagine life outside of the constant flow of interaction and traumatising socialising of living in a city suburb. Especially when you were born and raised in a village just a stone’s throw away from the city centre where you’re integrated into society of that flow from birth. That’s exactly the environment I was raised in, in Raheny, North Dublin.
You rarely give thought to the fact that there’s people going about their life around the world, but when you do, you don’t think of Foula.
Foula is a fascinating island in the Shetland Islands, a set of islands off the Northern coast of Scotland. Foula has a population of just 38 people. It’s one of the most remotely inhabited islands on earth.
It was first inhabited by Norsemen around 800AD, and they ruled the island until the 15th century. The influence from those first inhabitants still exists, with places on the island called Norderhus, Krugali, and Guttren. The name itself is Old Norse for “Bird Island.” Foula was one of the last Shetland Islands to still speak the language.
Foula is so unique it stills used the Julian calendar, while the rest of the world have used the Gregorian calendar since 1752. Christmas day falls on January 6th, with New Year’s Day falling on the 13th of the same month. When you think that the island is so remote, you think the people must be behind the times of the modern world, and while that would be a reasonable assumption, it most definitely is not that case.
“As far as we’re concerned, you’re the weird ones.” Islander Marion Taylor says to Jon Henley, a Guardian journalist visiting the island. “Everyone has to have a roof over their heads and ours just happens to be here. We’re just getting on with our lives. We don’t really see what there is to get worked up about.”
To visit the island you can catch a ferry that travels twice weekly to Foula, taking two and a half hours, or you can travel by a tiny eight seater aeroplane, taking 30 minutes roughly to reach the narrow tarmac airstrip.
shetland isle.jpg
It is truly astonishing that people live here. It has constant blustery conditions and there’s no shops or pubs located on the island, it’s a mystery how a person can survive here. There is a post office though it’s no bigger than a Fiat Punto. The inhabitants have enjoyed the luxury of telephones since the 1960’s, and have been given the pleasure of running water and power supplies since the mid-1980s.
Anyone from the outside world would fail to adapt to living conditions in Foula. Groceries come in by plane, the same plane that carries passengers to the island that is, and they’re normally greeted by passengers of potatoes and tinned tomatoes.
Not everyone is a mainland shopper though, as Jon Henley discovered on his excursions of the isle. In Foula’s southernmost settlement of Hametown, 32 year old Amy Ratter, who is a relation of the Holbourn family, the family who has owned Foula for more than a century, grows half a dozen types of vegetable and rears 28 Shetland ewes, two rams, three lambs, 11 pigs, a dog, and piper her Shetland pony.
Similar to those before her and those after, Amy moved to a boarding school in Lerwick at aged 11, and similar again to those before and after, she didn’t return. “I got a job, bought a house down south and forgot all about it. But then one autumn I came here to visit my mother for the first time in six years and I thought what on earth am I doing over there? Working for someone else?
Amy arranged to return to Foula, moving into her grand-fathers retired cottage, and started her life back on the island by rebuilding fallen stone walls and pencilling in her apportionment to go hill grazing. Now she puts in 21 hours weekly pumping the islands supply of water each morning. She is a part time fire brigade member and spends the majority of her day working four crofts. It’s harder work than us foolish mainlanders will probably ever endure.
The people of Foula agree on one thing; the island needs a few more inhabitants. Not many, but some small families. What kind of traits would you need to ensure survival in the remoteness of the Shetland Islands? “Self-reliant, adaptable, fond of their own company, tolerant of other people’s views.” Says Sheila Gear, another member of the Holbourn family. She moved to Foula in 1964 to marry Jim, whose grandfather landed time in the 19th century and is remembered fondly throughout the island folk for petitioning queen Victoria and Disraeli to obtain the islands first regular postal service. Self-reliant because when things break in Foula, you need to fix them yourself. Fond of your own company because the island mingling isn’t exactly on the same scale as Oxford street. “This is a community that when it really comes to it, like when the council threatens to base the ferry of the island, everyone pulls together.” In what Henley describes Sheila as mild mannered and bespectacled as she stands behind the post office counter.
The community feel you get from Foula is similar to a rural Irish town in the sense, everyone knows each other, but not everyone is in contact. It’s a truly captivating way of living right on our door step, essentially.
People have been falling in love with the Island for years. One of those people is Penny Gear, who carries out a range of extraordinary duties on the Island. Penny is the daughter of Sheila and Jim Gear, and her duties on the island cover a broad range of areas. Shes a pony breeder, relief cleaner, school lunch supervisor, airstrip fire warden and bird monitor.
foula065_lowres.jpg
Penny explained her reasons to Jon Henley for returning, and in hind sight, they are very reputable. “I never saw anything on the main land that I wanted more than Foula” although there has been stages on the island where she wished things would be easier for her. “I never wished I would be anywhere else. I love the freedom, the nature, the beauty, the life. On occasion I walk over to see the rollers coming in, it’s breathtaking, always.”
Bizarrely, well to outsiders anyway, Penny’s two boys, Paul, six, and Robert, 10, they are the only pupils to attend the island school. With the aforementioned Lerwick boarding school looming on the horizon for Robert, she admits she is dreading the change. Although she concedes her son Paul should take the baton of responsibility before too long. “But how many parents wouldn’t like to drop their children’s home and school into the middle of a park, where they can bike to school and the front door is never locked and there’s no worry of crime or pollution.”
If that’s what being remote is, that’s fine by me.”
Kindest regards
Barrel
IF I WALKED ON WATER PEOPLE WOULD SAY I COULD NOT SWIM !
Happy Old Goat
The law, as they say, is the law.
But some british laws can be broken with impunity.
Arthur
I wish I was in the land of cotton.
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