Brum worst for gun crime.

BIRMINGHAM has some of the worst gun crime hotspots in the country, according to a survey.

Although Manchester and Nottingham are often described as having the worst gun crime problem in the country, the survey found that six out of the top ten worst areas are in the West Midlands. They include Aston, Handsworth and Stechford in Birmingham, north Dudley, and east Wolverhampton.

Among the latest shooting victims were two men shot dead in the Birmingham district of Loz-ells in recent weeks - Mohammed Basharat Ali and Meshack Tesfa Bernard-Brown.

Now, the latest study commissioned by the Home Office, shows firearms in the city can be bought for as little as pounds 50 and realistic-looking imitations for pounds 20.

The 160-page study says sawn-off shotguns - the weapons of choice for serious armed robbers and favoured for their "significant intimidatory value" - could be bought for between pounds 50 and pounds 200 in the region.

It also revealed that automatic weapons such as machine guns could carry a price tag of pounds 4,000, although the cheapest went for just pounds 800. The findings were based on interviews with 80 criminals serving prison sentences for gun crime.

The study has a series of recommendations, including that the Government should consider tighter controls on blank ammo - which can be converted to fire projectiles such as ball-bearings.

CAPTION(S):

VICTIM...Meshack.