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[font="arial][size="2"]THE parents of a 12-year-old boy killed by an airgun have won their fight to change national gun laws.
Joanne and Andrew Picken took their fight to Downing Street following the death of son Mitchel in 2006.
The schoolboy died two days after the airgun went off unintentionally and shot him in the eye as he played at a friend's home.
Now, after almost five years of campaigning by the Pickens, the Government has imposed tighter restrictions on the weapons.
It means that from February 10, airgun owners can be fined up to £1,000 if under-18s get unauthorised access to the weapons.
Mr Picken, of Baddeley Green Lane, Milton, Stoke-on-Trent, said: "This is a victory for us. We'd always said we wanted measures put in place, which, while they may not save Mitchel, would stop something like that happening again.
"I'm really pleased that the legislation is being put through."
Mitchel had been playing with two friends in a bedroom in Greenway Hall Road, Stockton Brook, when the tragedy struck.
A 13-year-old boy, who was later cleared of manslaughter, admitted shooting Mitchel in the eye, but said he pulled the trigger accidentally.
The gun was owned by an adult.
The new law means owners must take "reasonable precautions" to stop under-18s having unauthorised access to airguns.
Measures include storing airguns out of sight in locked cupboards, storing pellets in separate locked areas and keeping the keys to the cupboards in "separate and secure" places.
Mr Picken added: "Hopefully this will stop a repeat of Mitchel's death.
"If these things do happen in the future, these changes will mean airgun owners can be held responsible for their actions.
"These changes address many of the problems and it's down to the police to make sure the law is properly enforced."
In 2008, the Pickens went to Downing Street to convince then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown to change the law.
The couple were helped in their campaign by Stoke-on-Trent MPs Joan Walley and Mark Fisher.
Latest figures show three people were seriously injured by airguns in Staffordshire in 2009/10.
Chief Inspector Phil Fortun, who is a firearms incident commander, said: "This new legislation will help safeguard children against being seriously injured or killed by an air weapon.
"We know parents cannot be with their children all the time, but we would advise them to make sure any air weapons they have are locked up so they cannot fall into the wrong hands."
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[b]Source - [url="http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/VICTORY-FIGHT-GUN-LAWS/article-3156746-detail/article.html"]Staffordshire[/url][/b]
