YouTube sparks rise in antique gun crimes

YOUTUBE videos teaching criminals how to make bullets has led to an increase in the use of antique firearms in crime, it has emerged.

There has been a 20-fold increase in the number of ancient weapons being used in gun crime over the last decade in the UK, according to the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS).

It is thought gangsters are turning to antique weapons as their access to other illegal firearms dries up.

Drug dealers and gang members are able to buy the guns legally from junk shops and car boot sales, where they are sold as curiosities.

But they are quickly converted into deadly weapons when fitted with home-made DIY bullets.

Antique weapons are exempt from the law if they are appear on the list of obsolete calibres, which means ammunition is no longer commercially available. But criminals are learning how to make the bullets by watching tutorials on sites such as YouTube.

Det Chief Supt Jo Chilton, the head of NABIS, said the use of antique firearms was one of the most “significant trends” to emerge in the battle against gun crime in recent years.

NABIS chief scientist Martin Parker said: “In the 1980s it was sawn-off shotguns, in the 90s handguns and submachine guns and in the noughties replicas emerged.

“Now we have seen a marked increase in the use of antique weapons. They are easy to obtain but can be fired just like any other gun – and have just the same impact.”