Police firearms officer is rushed to hospital after accidentally shooting himself with a gun at a military training facility

A police officer needed hospital treatment after suffering a self-inflicted gunshot wound in an accident at a military training facility yesterday.

The officer, who is attached to the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Firearms Command, was taking part in a training exercise at Fingringhoe Ranges, near Colchester, Essex.

Few details have been released about the incident although the Met said 'no other officers were directly involved'.

The individual, who hasn't been identified, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and has since been discharged from hospital.

A force spokesman said: 'While the full circumstances will be the subject of a thorough investigation, initial indications are that this was an accident and that no other officers were directly involved.

'We are providing the officer and his colleagues with our full support.'

Fingringhoe Ranges is used by the British Army to train its troops. The green space, including Army training areas, is open to walkers when training is not taking place.

Last month troops from 16 Air Assault Brigade used the facility to test a new smart optical sight that uses artificial intelligence to help them shoot down drones more effectively.

The Smash sight is mounted on a standard SA80 assault rifle and uses imaging processing software to detect Uncrewed Aircraft Systems in its field of view.

It shows a box around the target and tracks and predicts its movement and only allows the rifle to be fired when it is perfectly aligned for a successful shot.

Just four per cent of the 142,000 police officers in England and Wales are armed – around 6,000. The largest number are in the Met, with around 2,500.

Authorised Firearms Officers are trained by the Met's Specialist Firearms Command and serve either in that unit or other special squads such as counter-terrorism or parliamentary and diplomatic protection.

They are invited to attend the training unit after taking written tests and interviews and having completed their probationary period with a further two years in a core policing role.

Weapons they familiarise themselves with include the Glock 17 pistol and Heckler & Koch MP5 carbine. There is also training on armed response vehicle tactics and searching buildings.

The unit was formed in 1829 and officers were initially issued with flintlock pistols for use in emergencies, later replaced by early revolvers.

Operations involving Specialist Firearms Command officers include the Iranian Embassy Siege in 1980 and the London Bridge terrorist attack in 2017.