The fatal shooting of Tasawar Hussain as he tried to intervene in a Bradford robbery emphasised the importance of the T&A's Stamp Out Gun Crime campaign. Tasawar was the latest of a series of local people who have paid with their lives for the ease with which firearms can be acquired and the willingness of criminals to use them.

Hopefully that campaign slogan will soon be reflected in reality thanks to new measures introduced by the Government and enforced by the police. The tougher sentences for illegal possession of prohibited firearms, with a minimum of five years for those convicted, hopefully will make all but the most hardened and determined of criminals think at least twice before acquiring a gun.

Those who already own one and probably will wish they didn't when the new law comes into effect would do well to take advantage of the month-long amnesty during the full month of April. The effectiveness of such measures has been demonstrated by previous amnesties. One in 1996, following the slaughter of schoolchildren in Dunblane, saw 23,000 firearms and 700,000 rounds of ammunition handed in.

Of course there will always be criminals who believe themselves to be above any laws. They will continue to acquire guns and will be prepared to use them. But an amnesty which sweeps thousands more weapons off the street will make it rather harder for them to get their hands on one and the tougher penalties for possession should help to deter others from dabbling in firearms and becoming a part of the "gun culture" which is making the streets so dangerous for all of us.