A SCHOOLBOY is found guilty of manslaughter after shooting a friend dead with an air gun here in the North-East.

On the same day that this harrowing trial comes to a conclusion, a woman is killed by a single air gun pellet in Hull.

If any further evidence were needed that air guns are deadly weapons, it was provided by these two tragic cases yesterday.

There is no sensible argument against air rifles being treated differently from other firearms and the Government must act now to tighten the flimsy controls that exist.

While air rifles are so easily accessible and without any kind of licensing system, innocent people will be caught in the crossfire: maimed, blinded and - in some cases - killed.

The shooting which ended the young life of Matthew Sheffield in Eaglescliffe, on Teesside, began as horseplay. But guns, in inexperienced or reckless hands, evoke a sense of power which is lethal.

In the wake of the Dunblane atrocity in which 16 infants and their teacher were shot dead, The Northern Echo inspired the wrath of gun enthusiasts by campaigning for handguns to be banned.

It was a campaign based on the premise that the fewer handguns in circulation, the less chance there would be of them getting into the wrong hands.

Steps must now be taken to restrict the availability of air rifles and any further delay by the Government in bringing in emergency legislation would be nothing short of criminal negligence.

A delicate balancing act

Darlington is a town which has rested on its laurels for too long. It needs ambitious, creative ideas to move forward.

The plan for a multi-million Soccerdome development on the edge of the town is that kind of proposal.

But a regional football centre with 400 jobs will not come without a price. It could only be viable with associated retail developments which would be in breach of local planning rules.

Darlington Borough Council has a difficult decision to make - risk the wrath of town centre traders, or lose an imaginative development to a neighbouring town.