Firearms officers responded to hundreds of incidents in Norfolk last year, new figures show.

While police officers do not routinely carry guns in the UK, forces may use specially-trained firearms officers in response to some crimes.

Figures from the Home Office show Norfolk Constabulary deployed these officers in 250 operations in the year to March, down from 273 the year before.

Officers have been called to 1,239 incidents in the past five years.

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Dr Peter Squires, of the Gun Control Network, established after the Dunblane tragedy, said the decrease in the number of deployments "reflects a welcome fall in the frequency of incidents requiring police armed attendance".

The figures show there were 159 police officers trained to use firearms in Norfolk, a rise on the 147 a year earlier.

In Suffolk firearms officers were deployed to 175 incidents last year, down from 216 the previous 12 months. 

Nationally, police firearms were "intentionally discharged" at a person just twice in 2023-24, compared to 10 times a year earlier, and not at all in Norfolk or Suffolk.