​A BBC investigation has revealed Gloucestershire police granted a shotgun licence to a seven-year-old child.

A Freedom of Information request also revealed that 13 children under the age of 10 have been issued with licences in the UK over the past three years.

The West Mercia and Cumbria forces each approved a licence for an eight-year-old, and 10 other certificates were issued to nine year olds.

The figures, obtained by the BBC from 51 forces around the UK, showed that between 2008 and 2010, 7,071 licences were issued to under-18s in total.

In December, the Commons home affairs select committee described legislation in England and Wales as a “complex and confused” mess and called for tighter restrictions on gun licences.

The committee said minimum age limits should be considered “with the aim of reducing inconsistency and complexity around the use of firearms by children”. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has recommended the introduction of an “absolute minimum age” for shooting with firearms and shotguns, set at 10 years old.

A spokesman for the Home Office, which is reviewing the laws, said: “Public protection is the first duty of any government and our firearms laws are among the toughest in the world. It is right that we keep them under review and we are prepared to tighten them further if necessary. Those controls must also be proportionate and fair and all options are on the table.”

A West Mercia Police spokesman said: “Most of the under-18s who have firearms licences do so for sports purposes, such as clay pigeon shooting. Some of them are shooting at very high levels – some in West Mercia are even representing Britain and training towards the Olympics in 2012. Some older teens will have them as part of their job, for example in farming.

“They all must have an adult over 21 who is a firearms licence holder themselves to vouch for them and they use any weapon under their supervision. They are not allowed to own a firearm and cannot even have access to a gun cabinet – a member of their family or the gun club would supply them at the appropriate time and then take back possession of the firearm afterwards.”

A Gloucestershire Constabulary spokesman said: "We can confirm that a shotgun licence was granted in August 2008 to a seven year old boy living in Gloucestershire.

"The application for a licence was submitted and supported by the boy's father, who is himself a firearm and shotgun certificate holder.

"A Firearms Enquiry Officer interviewed the father, and established that the boy would be using his father's shotgun under his supervision on their own land, for which no certificate is required, but also on land owned by others, which is why the certificate was required.

"The young person - now aged 10 - remains under direct supervision and still uses his father's gun.

"He cannot buy or be given his own gun at this age.

"There is currently no minimum age for anyone to be issued with a shotgun certificate and each application is carefully considered on a case by case basis."

ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) lead for firearms licensing, Assistant Chief Constable Adrian Whiting, said: “The evidence relating to young people being granted shotgun certificates does not currently give cause for concern.

"Certification enables young people to shoot in a supervised environment but it does not allow them to purchase firearms or ammunition.

“Critical to ensuring safety is the environment in which shooting takes place, which is why my view is that all children should be supervised by an adult certificate holder over the age of 21. In addition, if we are to continue to allow children to shoot, then introducing a minimum age across firearms and shotguns without exemptions would apply more controls than currently exist.”

Specialist TV channel Fieldsports presenter Charlie Jacoby said it was vital youngsters should continue to be granted licences for sporting purposes.

He said: "Once again, the media is turning on legal gun owners, who are among the most law-abiding people in the country. They are ignoring illegal gun-owners, who are the problem. This is like blaming ordinary commuters for car thefts.

"More than a quarter of the gold medals we brought back from the 2010 Commonwealth Games were in shooting sports and archery. If we ban under-10s from using shotguns, we will stop winning medals."