By Ralph Blackburn

Gun offences in Kent are at the highest level for nine years, police figures show.

According to the Office for National Statistics, police in the county investigated 78 offences involving a firearm between April 2017 and March 2018.

That’s the highest number since 2008-09, when there were 93 cases.

It comes as more than 170 firearms and nearly 4,000 rounds of ammunition were handed in during an amnesty held by police in Kent.

The incidents counted are offences where a gun has been used.

Nationally the most common crime category involving a firearm was violence against the person, followed by robbery.

Across England and Wales, gun offences are at their highest level since 2010-11.

Peter Squires, a criminologist and member of non-profit group the Gun Control Network, said his research showed an “increasing supply of illegal firearms coming in through Europe”.

He said guns were getting into the UK “through fast parcel service, internet based orders and regular smuggling coming in through confinements of drugs”.

“A particular concern,” he added, “has involved the rising use of antique firearms, being recycled for criminal use, and shotguns being stolen from farms and sawn down and used by criminals.”

It comes just a week after Kent Police’s annual firearms amnesty which saw more than 120 weapons handed in and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

According to the ONS, the most common firearm used nationally was a handgun.

The figures also show the number of offences involving a knife or sharp object.

In 2017-18, police in Kent recorded 793 cases with knives or sharp weapons.

That’s a 58% increase on four years earlier.

There are 43 knife offences per 100,000 people in Kent, lower than the national average which is 69 per 100,000.

Across England and Wales, the number of fatal stabbings hit the highest level since comparable records began, more than 70 years ago.

Diana Fawcett, chief officer at charity Victim Support, said: “It’s deeply troubling these rises are being driven by a huge increase in the number of young people whose lives are being lost to this epidemic.

"These figures further highlight the need for all agencies to come together to tackle this increasing crisis which is destroying lives and shattering communities.”

Policing and fire minister, Nick Hurd, said: “It is crucial to stamp this out.

“We are investing a further £220 million in community early intervention projects and have made clear all public bodies need to treat serious violence as a priority.”

He added the government has proposed “the biggest increase in police funding since 2010”.