Gun crime and murder have decreased dramatically in Sussex, making the county one of the safest in England.

The Home Office has revealed there were 82 incidents in Sussex involving firearms between September 2003 and September 2004, compared with 136 between 2002 and 2003 - a drop of 40 per cent.

The drop comes against a background of gun crime rising by five per cent nationally and shows that Sussex has one of the lowest rates of firearms offences in the country.

Sussex Assistant Chief Constable Geoff Williams said: "Gun crime has always been relatively low in Sussex.

"However, we are not complacent and we vigorously pursue any intelligence that we receive about the criminal use of firearms.

"Last year we had a very successful guns amnesty and we removed nearly 2,000 weapons from circulation.

"The force also works very closely with schools in the area to warn of the dangers of young people using imitation firearms.

"The introduction of a five-year mandatory sentence for carrying an illegal firearm will also make criminals think twice before using firearms."

Home Office minister Hazel Blears said it remained important to counter the culture that glamorises the use of guns in the eyes of youngsters.

She said: "We have got to tackle the culture of gun crime. We've got to get through to youngsters that carrying a gun is not a cool thing to do.

"We need to work even more intensively with local communities and families to get the message across that carrying guns is not a way of resolving your disputes with people."

The figures, published yesterday, also revealed a drop in the number of murders.

While there were 23 in 2002/03 this fell to 15 last year. Home Secretary Charles Clarke said violent crime remained the biggest challenge facing the police and would be his number one priority.

He said changes to licensing laws allowing 24-hour drinking would not undermine this. He said: "If we are to drive down violent crime, hitting alcohol is an absolutely crucial part of the process."

A separate crime and justice survey stated one in four boys aged 14 to 17 were classified as "serious or prolific offenders".

Mr Clarke said: "There are many people, too many, who are engaged in low-level issues, whether that is not paying their bus fares or whatever.

"What is important is to say that even that very low level of crime is not acceptable and has to be driven out.

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said: "If you know of people who continue to hold on to firearms illegally, please ring Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555111."