THOUSANDS of people in Essex were granted shotgun and firearm licences in the last five years, figures show.

A Freedom of Information request to Essex Police reveals more than 12,000 people had their shotgun certificates renewed from 2016 to 2020.

Figures show that more than 4,000 had a firearms certificate renewed.

Between 2016 and 2020, Essex Police granted 1,099 new firearms certificates to residents who had applied.

In the same period, the police granted 3,631 new shotgun certificates.

This means that in total, there are 15,927 valid shotgun certificates in Essex, and 5,250 firearms certificates as of 2020.

The highest number of new shotgun grants came in 2018, with 800 new certificates approved.

The highest number of new firearms grants came in 2019, with 252 cases.

In November 2019, Essex Police introduced a Medical Screening Report (MSR) for new certificates, and the same was made for renewals in February 2020.

A spokesman said: “Due to the pandemic we have issued some temporary permits to give the certificate holders more time to provide an MSR and to alleviate the pressure on the NHS. Since the introduction of MSRs no certificate has been issued without an MSR.”