NORTH Yorkshire police have defused a row with the Home Office by admitting that figures on soaring gun crime in the county were correct.

The force had disputed Government figures which showed firearm-related offences rising by more than 300 per cent.

North Yorkshire was one of a number of forces showing a year-on-year rise, according to the Home Office statistics released last week.

Firearms offences, not including air weapons, recorded in the 12 months up to April 2002, increased from nine to 28. But police chiefs queried the rise and had asked the Association of Chief Police Officers to investigate.

Yesterday, police spokes-man Ron Johnson acknowledged the figures were correct after discussions with the Home Office.

He played down the increase recorded by the force, which in percentage terms was one of the biggest in the country.

He said: "The numbers are still very small when you take into account a county the size of North Yorkshire.

"Gun crime is comparatively rare and that trend is continuing this year with very few incidents of this kind being recorded."

Gun-related incidents during the recording period included the shooting of pub landlord Kristian Stephenson, who attempted to tackle armed robbers at his pub in Masham, Lower Wensleydale, and a man who was shot in the stomach after a wedding attended by travellers in York erupted into violence.

Graeme Robertson, vice- chairman of the North Yorkshire Police Authority and a local magistrate, said: "Clearly, we are very worried about this steep rise in gun crime.

"However, the numbers are still very small and the overall national picture shows that North Yorkshire is still one of the safest places in the country to live."