SUPPORT is growing for a campaign to tighten restrictions on the use of airguns which have been used by thugs to injure people and kill wildlife.

Bolton MP Dr Brian Iddon has joined the fight to change the law on the weapons, raising the age at which they can be used from 14 to 17.

Jonathan Shaw, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, has tabled an Early Day Motion to change the law which up to the start of the Commons summer recess on July 24 had been signed by 119 MPs.

Dr Iddon said: "So far it has been signed by over 25 per cent of those eligible to sign in the House of Commons so it is quite a big issue. It is going well."

Incidents involving airguns have endangered the lives of people and animals and also caused damage to property.

In June, 43-year-old Simon Lee, formerly of Horwich, was found guilty of attempted murder after he shot his wife, Caron, in the head and neck following an argument.

In police interviews, Lee said he had no idea the gun -- which he used for shooting rabbits -- was loaded.

Earlier this month, two men were charged in Blackburn in connection with an air rifle shooting which left four people needing hospital treatment.

In Hull, a 36-year-old woman died after being shot in her home with an air rifle. And in Edinburgh, a young woman on her way home from a night out was shot in the leg.

What do you think about changing the law on the use of airguns? Write to Alison Barton at the Bolton Evening News, Newspaper House, Churchgate, Bolton, BL1 1DE. We will forward letters to MP Jonathan Shaw.