LONDON, England - January 6, 2010 - Kenneth Wilson, who was shooting pigeons legally, was arrested when trespassers who were trying to view a crop circle called police to report a gun being used in the field.

Shooting groups are reporting a growing number of cases where officers in armed response vehicles and helicopters are swooping down on people who are legally shooting.

In many cases, the shooters are arrested and have had their guns seized. They are sometimes locked up and have their DNA taken, before police accept their error.

The Countryside Alliance has described as "hysterical", the "massive overreaction" by officers, while the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has warned that an incident could lead to a lawful shooter being killed by police marksmen.

The problem has become so great, that the field sports' bible, Shooting Times, has launched an initiative - called the Campaign for Common Sense - to urge police to improve their dealings with field sports enthusiasts. The publication has also submitted a dossier detailing its complaints and proposals to a recent consultation by the National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA) on police firearm use.

The magazine's news editor, Selena Masson, said, "The police response is completely out of sync with what is actually going on. They send helicopters and up to half a dozen police vehicles, at astronomical cost to the taxpayer. They manhandle shooters, throw them in the cells and take DNA fingerprints, despite the fact that these people have permission and all the relevant documentation."

Christopher Graffius, from the BASC, said, "It doesn't take a lot of imagination to imagine a scene where armed police are called out going horribly wrong. The shooters' lives are at risk. I don't think many police forces have developed procedures to deal with this issue. They need to do so."