Essex Police has removed 220 guns from licensed firearms holders after concerns about their suitability to possess them because of domestic abuse.

The force launched Operation Wishbone following a series of incidents elsewhere in the UK in which lawfully held firearms had been used in domestic related murders and other serious incidents.

Deputy Chief Constable Derek Benson commissioned the review to check whether any firearms licence holders in Essex had been the perpetrator of domestic abuse, even if they had not been arrested, charged, or been found guilty of an offence.

The operation looked in significant detail at the background and circumstances of these incidents to determine if it was appropriate to permit them to continue to lawfully possess firearms.

Chief Inspector Tom Simons said: "The purpose of the review was to identify licensed firearms holders where we had information to suggest they might have been involved in perpetrating domestic abuse.

"If there were concerns, we took steps to remove guns, ammunition and certificates where we believed there was a danger to public safety.”

All 24,500 licence holders in Essex were subject to review and 855 cases were subject of further investigation.

Further enquiries were then carried out to check if there was any duplication of names, or misspellings, which might have meant that people had been overlooked.

The review ultimately identified 777 people to be visited to check if it was still suitable for them to legally possess weapons.

Inspector Neal Miller who led the operation said: "We prioritised the cases, focusing on the highest risk first and began visiting the holders to check on their suitability.

"We also made our approach much more victim based so that they had an opportunity to say whether they believed their partners or family members should be allowed to keep their guns.

"Throughout the whole process we also worked closely with our safeguarding team to make sure an appropriate safety plan was in place around any domestic abuse victims.

"We also found that when firearms were removed from homes, some victims then felt able to disclose further details of domestic and sexual abuse they had suffered because they were reassured we were taking action.”

Out of the 777 firearms holders who were assessed a total of 24 had their licences revoked and a further 26 surrendered their licences – leading to the seizure of 220 shotguns and other firearms.

A further 86 owners were given warnings about the manner in which they stored their guns following home visits.

The 24 revocations also included three registered firearms dealers who are no longer trading after having their licences removed.

Inspector Miller added: "The learning that has come out of this operation has now been embedded into the force so that any incidents where there is a suggestion of the involvement of a licenced firearms holder are now assessed at the earliest opportunity and fully investigated.

"We have also established case law to support our actions after one of the licence holders we seized firearms from appealed the decision. This case went to Basildon Crown court, which upheld our decision and awarded costs to Essex Police.”