Lively licence

I recently received a letter from Thames Valley Police inviting me to renew my licences. I received two identical letters as I have a firearm and a shotgun. The purpose, the letter explained, was to help smooth the flow of annual renewal applications so that they can process them faster. The incentive was to have each done for just £25.

I completed both applications and attached two cheques.

The next day I received a text informing me that my application had been received and was being processed. The day after that I received an email informing me that they’d torn-up one of my cheques as they’d be processing the applications simultaneously so therefore just charging one fee: bargain!

At this rate, I expect my new licences will be in my hand in about a week, which is extraordinary considering that in the past we’ve all had to wait several months sometimes for applications to be processed.

Credit where it’s due: the police are clearly trying hard to improve and appear to have made great progress in their firearms processing methods. Mark Livesey

Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire