Police gun grab - pest controller loses £’000s 

Why is there never a mental health check on the accuser?

There is a pattern emerging in these cases, and usually a spiteful woman is involved

This is absolutely disgusting, if my wife had done this to me out of spite,then I'd have been straight down the solicitors and she would now be an ex wife

You're better off without her, mate. Everyone else can see it!

It's standard, women make the call, then police ruin the man's life.

Always a scorned or spiteful woman that instigates these instances, then followed by poor quality police enforcement.

Blame your wife 100% if she hadn’t phoned the police this would not have happened this is the type of phone call the police love

so his missus ruined everything, divorce her.

And people wonder why the Americans are against giving up their second amendment rights!!!

I’ve been in this situation and it’s incredibly difficult to get to grips with. Shooting has been my life to the core, both as a sport and a business.and after an argument with my partner she called the police to say she had my cabinet keys . Which she had found while I was out . This resulted in the fire arms team entering the property ,and removing my firearms and shotguns.it cost me my passion and a significant income, but luckily after four years of some very important people backing me and making the police see common sense , my FAC and SGL were returned and with my permissions still in place .life has now continued as it should have always in the first place!!!!!. Always try to cooperate with the police and firearms team as best you can with representation because it’s a mine field out there . Stay safe everyone and may you all continue with our beloved sport 🙏

Things like this happen when you choose the wrong wife.....This is insane!

This is really disgusting.

Something very similar happened to me, extremely spurious, and there is almost no recourse unless you want to spend £8k plus. When I announced I intended to appeal, officers emailed me encouraging me to re-apply in 18 months and said they would even expedite my application if I did so (all on email!)! As a model citizen, no criminal record, to be told that because my car was broken into twice I was 'being targeted', and renewal refused. I hope someone can do something about this.

The thing I don't understand is the wife's reactions to an argument. It seems like she knows how to inflict maximum hurt on her husband. If she had come to his side and admitted her overreactions, I could get that. I mean, you don't do things like that to the ones you love. I hope you get your guns back. Good luck.👍

Over the last few decades I have sold off all my firearms/shotguns due to the continually increasing hassle I was getting from firearms licensing every 4 years. The G.P. letter was just icing on the cake four years ago and that was when I sold my last 3 shotguns. I would quite happily have kept ALL my guns if it wasn't for the continued increase in incompetence and paranoia that has taken over both the government, senior police and firearms licensing departments, both in Devon and London. As far as I am concerned the police should realise that those that hold these licences/permits are the most law abiding of citizens compared to the continual increase in violent crime by others in the country. I do not believe the government nor the police will be happy, across the UK, until no one has any firearms/shotguns stored at home. Sad days for many in this country and for what! Paranoia in my opinion.

Always believe the female narcissist. Because chicks never lie🤦🏼‍♂️.

This incident can easily turn someone who just needed to cool their head following an argument, into someone who could potentially be suicidal by taking their hobby and livlihood away from them. It's a disgrace, someone needs to be held accountable and things need to change. I hope financial compensation is paid for loss of earnings.

By hook or by crook they want these LEGAL guns in.

Yet an old 90 year old housebound guy who, had threatened two carers & a disabled girl with his walking stick, puting them in fear of their safety was allowed to keep his firearms & shotgun certificate? ... still thats just a reflection of the quality of "The Filth" in Hertfordshire!!

Happened to a dealer I know but it was his interfering mother in law who called the police. Completely destroyed his business.

Firearms control needs to be removed from the police. They should be required to get a court order. The police are out of control. There needs to be a national firearms agency.

I went through this exact scenario. Suffolk constabulary took my firearms away after and argument with my wife and just as I thought I was going to get them back I stupidly got caught by a speed camera and that was enough for them to keep hold of them. I eventually had them transferred to my local RFD and put up for sale. 2 out of 9 of my firearms had deteriorated in police storage and had to be destroyed. 18 months on 2 are still at the RFD for sale and I gave up trying to get my certificates back.

This is the reason we packed up and crossed the Atlantic Ocean but there are STILL people who want to take our guns rather than pursue actual criminals.

The one bit of advice is pick a better chick... ... The fact he's still with the women is very telling 🤦🏼‍♂️

they will do any thing to take your guns,sorry to here,

This happened to a friend of mine because of his mrs. He had his license's revoked and all guns seized. Luckily he had legal cover and got everything back.

Pest controller who can't control the biggest rodent Hilarious

I was reported as being suicidal by someone I had never had a conversation with, two firearms officers turned up in full body armour, taza and sidearm that put a lump in my throat I can tell you. They asked to come in yes no problem and they told me after twenty or thirty minutes do I look and sound suicidal to you, to which their reply was err no. I was prescribed Amitriptyline 25mg tablets as a painkiller but when the firearms officer came to see me he kept on saying that it could be used for depression that's all he kept saying I had since stopped taking them TBH I've not missed them.

Incompetent policing again.

The only person in this story that has mental health problems is the Wife and what the hell is he still doing with her? A leopard never changes its spots he will go through all this to get his guns back and she will do it all over again.

The psychiatric field have NO right to refuse to assess him! It's discrimination and persecution!

A gp not wanting to to their job…what a surprise and a waste of taxpayers money

If he really wanted to harm his wife and son, he wouldnt need Firearms to do it. I recall a case where A Man stabbed his wife 300 times.

MARRIAGE IS GRAND...DIVORCE IS FIFTY GRAND..

First mistake, Getting married. Second Mistake, staying married

Not sure the police are to blame….your wife’s the issue here mate….it appears to be spiteful and that’s what our dearest do.

Dedman by name.... Dead man in the marriage. She knows now!! she's firmly in the driving seat after this debarcle

Without being funny what sort of argument means your misses phones the police?

And you stayed with her 😂🎉😢😢😮😢🎉🎉😂😂🎉😢😢😮😮😢🎉🎉😂😂🎉😢😢

Sue them. They never carried out a mental health assessment before they took them and the officers have no mental health qualifications. You have incurred losses due to you using them for business .

A similar incident occurred to me when a so-called friend accused me of threatening them with my firearms. The police firearms unit came, I was arrested, guns were seized, and I was questioned before being released. I then had to meet with the local firearms officer. everything was good and my guns were returned to me. it was simply protocol in place to protect everyone This is how it should be

You don’t need legal cover, u need to sue her.

Why will the psychiatric community not carry out an assessment? do they not have any faith in their practice? They study for years to learn all they need to know on the human psyche and charge patients accordingly. If they had ability to assess people as they claim, surely some one could step up and help this man get his life back without fear of something going wrong in the future? After all, we all have arguments with loved ones, it sounds as if this mans wife over reacted and regretted it as soon as she had said it.

I've just had 5 sir rifles seized by the police. I had an argument with some lad, who knew I had air rifles. He phoned the police, he said he saw 2 air rifles in my land rover and i threaten him. Now, I dont know where my guns are, ive had no contact with the police in the last month. £4,500 worth of kit because of false allegations. To say I'm gutted is an understatement. Good luck fella

They should be liable to pay compensation due to loss of livelihood.

Sir why are you still with her?

Not firearms related but my wife accused me of strangling her… completely made up but long story short I’m due to face a crown court trial in September 2025. Reality is she was the abusive one but the police seem to believe all women when it comes to reporting domestic incidents. It’s shocking and could as this guy proves could happen to anyone

For total transparency Let’s hear the wife’s side of the story as well please 🙏

his wife knew EXACTLY who to call & what to say. Probably rehearsed it dozens of times !!!

The fact that she called back trying to retract what had been said? Surely this shows you who is the person in the situation with the mental health issues? 🤨 Me thinks the police want to look into who's wasting their time!

I'd be blaming your wife for this.

What made his wife phone the Police? and why did he turn down the assessment?........

So he needs a psychiatric evaluation to determine if he is safe to access to his legally held firearms but is still allowed free and easy access to kitchen knives, chisels, screwdrivers and the use his vehicle at the same time? It’s easy to see what’s really going on here and it has nothing to with his family’s safety! Perhaps working harder to get illegally held firearms and other weapons out of criminal circulation would be a more productive use of police time. In the too hard basket for them perhaps.

Incompetence in the field of mental health is astounding. Often we read in the news of psychiatric cases in the community who should have been incarcerated-but aren't-often committing serious crimes-even murder, and yet because of a dubious one-off spurious report- which ends up damning the victim with serious repercussions and prove difficult to resolve- with catastrophic financial consequences in this case-where is the social justice here?

Speak to your local MP and also get a solicitor. Taking away your livelihood is not right.

They are making sure that no one has any weapons

Iam sure you can have your guns stored at a local gun shop , there's usually a small fee involved, Don't let the police store your guns !!

Why was your wife so concerned that she had to phone the police.?? What did you say to her. ?

Married 0ne once bloody nightmare....in court 4 times over house also the biggest lying thief on the planet 🙄 😤

I've heard of this before, spiteful wives calling the police. I hope the Scopes were removed.. and you have divorced the wife..

Thank heavens they weren't told about the balloon-on-a-stick in the shed, otherwise they would have confiscated that as well.

I sincerely hope someone in the medical community will be prepared to stick their head above the parapet and help this man. I for one am glad I gave up shooting before the handgun ban came in, in 1997. I let my FAC lapse in 1996 after the Dunblane massacre as saint Tony bloody blair made it clear he was going to take our guns away.

Terrible😢. Keep reporting on these stories please hopefully this poor guy gets his guns back. Good luck mate 👍

A scenario like this is a massive fear of mine. Shooting is the only hobbie I have been able to hold onto after being badly injured/disabled in a workplace injury several years ago, helping to keep me active when i can and providing a great benefit to my mental state. Yet I am in constant fear that im just one new pain medication away from having them taken off me. If anything an approach like this from the police will have the opposite effect to what you would think they would want, with people not reaching out when they need to out of a fear of it triggering a knee jerk reaction.

Zero nuance. Any Police encounter places one at risk of harm. Grotesque.

Lewis, is being asked to prove a negative.

Don't have a wife or girlfriend if you own legal arm's, live alone... You think he would know what day it is

I (then a Military Firearms Instructor) was once in the position where I could conduct live firing of automatic weapons as a Range Conducting Officer (ie the bloke in charge on Military Ranges sending BCR's into theatre) yet couldn't shoot pigeons or rabbits in my own back yard afterwards cos I had a similar finger pointed at me. (BCR=Battle Casualty Replacements . The Military are exempt from such nonsence & after much huffing and puffing told me to get on with it!)

Still with your wife? Having another child with her?..... I would question your mental health. 😱

Blame your " wife" not the police

I was the victim of the same thing. An exgirl friend made up the same lies. Got mystuff back eventually but it was very exhausting. Best of luck pal, am sure everything will be ok

Poor bloke, Lost his lively hood thanks to an argument with his misses. Dolly Parton song springs to mind......

I dont know the law in the UK, but where I live now, unless you are in the act of committing a crime, they cannot enter your house without permission or a court order. I suppose the call from this mans wife gave them reason to attend, then she allowed them access......? I am legally required to hand over firearms if requested to do so, but they cannot enter without a court order to take them. So I suppose I would have to bring them to the door. I used to live in the UK, from what I am seeing online, I am glad I no longer do. Its a crying shame to see once Great Britain become..... just Britain.

Cautionary tale, thanks for sharing.

Armed police arrived at my house, took my guns. All for a Facebook post that they couldn't disclose.

Why is this man making excuses for the government?

What’s that (similar) story about the guy preempting his wife’s spite, storing his guns at the local shop and just put the receipt in his cabinet. When the police rocked up to a (false) claim of misuse, they opened the cabinet to find the receipt dated days before the ‘incident’…!

I really feel for Lewis, the process is totally broken. It was a de facto seizure, but lawfully they were voluntary surrendered whilst he underwent a suitability review (even though it didn't feel like it!). If it was seized, then it would need to have been done with a warrant under Section 46, where they had to demonstrate to a magistrate that there is a need to seize the firearms in question because not doing so represents a danger to public safety or the peace. But yes, I can totally see that these were seized using ultra vires powers. He's still a licensed holder, just not currently holding the firearms or license/certificate. Ironically, *if* they revoked the certificate he would have grounds to appeal the revocation at the crown court... but with this made-up-process they are using, there is no method to appeal. The advice I would give is send a letter to them *requiring* them to return them within 30 days, or revoke your certificate & license which then gives you the right to appeal, as defined in Section 44 / Schedule 5 of the Firearms Act 1968. (They don't have grounds to revoke, or they would have already!) The law is clear on this, that if they feel they need to revoke the license/certificate they can, but this current holding position is outrageous, where it takes away your lawful right to appeal. Having reviewed Firearms Act 1968 and Home Office guidance on Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police, there is nothing in requiring you to have a psychological review, you have the report from the GP which is sufficient to have them returned. If however, Lewis did declare a relevant medical condition on his application form, then the police may ask you to obtain (and pay) for a "medical report" to assist in their consideration of medical suitability (this can be from your GP), this can just state that you have no mental impairment or similar. Then the important bit because it now moves the responsibility to the police to arrange, "If a further medical report is subsequently required by the police to assist with consideration of the application, the police will pay for this." - 2.37 Home Office guidance on Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police Do a Subject Access Request (DSAR) with the constabulary regarding anything related to the suitability review and also do a Freedom of Information Request (FOA) requiring them to provide a break down of all firearms seized in the month that yours was, explicitly defining the protected characteristics (where held) under the Equality Act 2010 of each person which had theirs seized. Whatever you do, don't just wait and hope they eventually do the right thing, you need to keep up the pressure with them. Also, whilst I agree it was responsible to require a qualified firearms officer to take custody of them, lawfully any crown servant does not require a license or qualifications to transport them (Section 54). In fact, the police could authorise a regular taxi driver to transport them, and this sometimes happens when they are being transported on their behalf.

when i was keepering my underkeeper was playing around and got found out by his wife. luckily he told me what was happening. i said right first thing we do is get your guns into storage before she tells them a crock of shit. he said no she wouldnt do that to me . anyhow after a while of persuading the guns were in storage with a mate who is an rfd. . 2 weeks later the shit hits the fan he is arrested by armed police and taken into custody. all he had at home was an air rifle . still took 12 months to get the guns back even though she was clearly lying .

A constable is licenced to seize and have in their possession any firearm. They might well not be trained to unload and make safe, but they don't need any special permission to take possession of them. They'll normally avoid it like the plagues if at all possible, but they're allowed to do so.

I don’t blame the Police You clearly said something to the wife to cause her concern. It’s yer own doing bro x

This is exactly what happened to me, fortunately the court could see what was going on, I had them returned to me and compassion for a air rifle and all the cartridges they destroyed, I had a doctor's medical report, when I had to renew it asked about motoring offences which I had none so all good, you are entitled to hold a certificate they need to find a excuse not to issue one, hence speeding as one chap has said. You have a responsibility having a certificate and that responsibility doesn't stop just at having the privilege to legally owning guns every aspect of your life, What worries me is the amount of guns that are out there illegally. Or the amount of knifes.

The Government, Home Office (!!😕) or Police must surely provide links to mental health professionals that will/ MUST make an assessment. As with GPs being allowed to 'opt out' of the process for applications and renewals, (and charge whatever they like!!) it's crazy. Their personal beliefs and thoughts should never come into the equation and they should not be allowed to hide from their responsibilities as healthcare providers. It is a job and part of their responsibility to patients must be to follow the rules and complete the form or carry out any assessments required. The same therefore must be absolutely set in stone for psychiatrists and mental health professionals. If some form of workable but non corruptable indemnity is required, so be it. But somewhere, a system that provides care and support for those who need it, MUST be in place and compulsory if the Police are allowed to insist on a specific pathway. It's utterly bonkers to have a situation in place, whereby it's a complete impossibility to carry out their instructions. It's like saying you can have the guns back if you can turn up on Monday with a unicorn and a mermaid! These awful events with the police are going to continue to escalate and increase unless the government (whoever that turns out to be! God help us all) steps in to redress the balance here, and create a system of evaluation that functions efficiently, swiftly and fairly for all. The huge tragedy is, they are now creating serious mental health issues where none existed prior to the stress of going through all that with the police in the first place!! No one ever wants any event of domestic strife to escalate into any form of violence. That clearly is a top priority for society as a whole and we, as firearms users, must understand and abide by that as the first priority. However, much of this extra stress, confusion and chaos could and should have been avoided if the police in the Plymouth tragedy (and no doubt other cases) had done their job and acted according to all the legal safeguarding that should have been so obvious in the first place. As we all now know, that terrible shooting would never have taken place if they had not handed back the very firearms used, to a man they knew full well to have a previous history of mental health and domestic violence and confiscation of firearms. And what prosecutions for 'aiding and abetting the unlawful deaths' of those victims in that shooting have taken place? As far as I am aware, none. All we seem to have now, is a situation whereby the police are never wrong and the seizure of firearms can lead to an impossible situation for those who have their firearms taken away. As with the Post Office case, there needs to be a scale of fair compensation in place following the return of those firearms, so that all costs are recovered and loss of earnings compensated for, following a positive report. Anything less is surely a form of discrimination and legally quite dodgy. I wish this gentleman all the luck in the world in sorting it out.

That's lame, Situations like this would give you paranoid schizophrenia.

Sadly my guns have also been removed from my home, applied for renewal few months before hand. But with the “delays” license expired so armed police turned up and removed and confiscated them. Nearly 3 months on and still no license and police still have my firearms. I had not been arrested or in any trouble, just the license has expired due to the police taking to long to send out the new certificate.

This is beyond a joke now, why can’t the kent police concentrate on stopping all the new peoples turning up on beaches& why is he still with that wife,she’s the instigator in all this

A woman can be more dangerous than a gun

Surely the quacks, should only be required to give a definitive NO to fire Arms. If they can't do that they should refer back it to the police. If therea no criminal reasons. Licence should be returned. Yet another abuse of police powers. You don't need a gun to hurt yourself or others.

"This is a welfare check sir are you suicidal?" "Nope" "Well we're going to destroy your life then."

Shouldn’t have talked to the police they are not your friends.

A very heavy handed way of doing things, on a woman's whim !!!!! Terrible treatment 😢

How to remove everything a man finds settling....a worrying trend

Routine response officers can recover firearms, as long as they’re red-tagged, but TFU officers are the ones who can clear them. The Chief Constable authorities the luxury of owning firearms and the associated certificates. They can withdraw the privilege if the suitability of the certificate holder is questioned. Usually, policy suggests that this would be queried after domestic or mental health incidents.

9:20 - Lewis's wife behind the camera holding a gun lmfao

That woman would be gone from my life if i was you. If she is willing to do that she can't be trusted! she's no partner

It sounds like Lewis' wife phoned the police out of concern for his welfare rather than out of spite - I'd be speculating but I imagine things were said in the heat of an argument that both parties now regret but I didn't get the impression she was out to get him? Congrats to Lewis and his family on their expected arrival - hopefully he gets the whole issue sorted quickly.

I worked for my local nhs trust in wton where i collegue made accusations to management stating i had taken guns into work, all was a fabrication by this individual who was previously suspended and held a grudge. Well the police searched my locker at work without my permission or knowledge then several armed police with dogs invaded my home, they didnt bream the door in as they thought there was nothing to it but the damage was done, management at the trust then tried to accuse me of having a mental health condition and suspended me on no evidence what so ever, i had a meeting with the police a few days after in which they agreed the trust acted wrongly towards me. I have shot ten meter olympic rifle and air rifles most of my life without incident. The trust put me through a year of legal stretched out wrangling i even tooknthem to an employment tribunal. I havnt worked for the trust since then or want to set foot in the place where my rights were abused by these people. I have moved on since then but have heard more stories like mine at this trust.

I hear more and more of this type of grab your guns . Surely spouses need to be held account when making alligations that are nothing but spiteful or false on some accasions

It's a shame. But imagine the same situation if they weren't the tools of his job, that's what the police do because his life and safety trump his career. The police have to err on the side of caution. Some people do take their lives. It happens more often than yours imagine. And you often can't tell who will do that. Requiring an assessment is entirely reasonable. His life is the most important thing in this story. His wife cares enough to ask for help. Most people prefer to do nothing for various reasons. I like her choice, it speaks well of her and her love for her husband. Good job. Lucky guy.

Over doctors the other day a guy been waiting over 6 months for doctor to update for licence,they wouldn't see him