PEOPLE in the North are better protected against gun crime by the police than residents of most other parts of Britain, a report by MPs has suggested.

The study criticised a fall in the number of authorised fire-arms officers (AFOs) in many forces, while the number of gun offences had risen sharply.

It warned the fight against the growing gun culture was being undermined by a lack of "adequate armed units on-call to continue more targeted operations".

But the report said the Dur-ham, Cleveland and North Yorkshire forces had far more AFOs, compared to the number of gun crimes, than in most other areas.

Durham has 4.53 AFOs per gun crime (the fifth highest of the 43 forces), with Cleveland (3.54, eighth) and North Yorkshire (2.36, 13th). In contrast, the West Midlands (0.09 AFOs per gun crime), Greater Manchester (0.16) and Merseyside (0.26) have far fewer trained officers.

Of the three North forces, only Durham recorded a fall in the number of AFOs between 2001 and 2002, from 101 to 86.

North Yorkshire's total remained the same at 66, while the tally in Cleveland rose from 75 to 85, according to the study by the all-party parliamentary group on gun crime.

The Police Federation told the group that one of the chief obstacles to a quick response to crimes involving guns was a lack of firearms officers.

The MPs' report said: "A recent survey found that nearly four in ten police officers are dissatisfied with the availability of armed support.

"We recommend the numbers of authorised firearms officers should be increased to ensure the police have adequate armed units on-call to continue more targeted operations."

The report also said victims and witnesses of gun crime should be given better protection to encourage more to give evidence in court.

There was a strong case for a ban on the import and sale of imitation weapons, amid evidence that firearms were arriving in the UK through the post, the report said.

But the MPs came out against arming all police officers, after hearing that it could increase "violent confrontation".

Although overall crime has fallen since Labour came to power in 1997, gun crime has doubled, with 10,250 offences last year.