There has been an 88 per cent rise in the number of times armed police have been deployed on the West's streets in the past seven years, official figures have shown.

The Home Office said there were 1,555 incidents in the region requiring an armed response in 2007-08, or 30 a week, up from 827 in 2001-02.

There was a small rise on the previous year of 2.7 per cent, but the statistics show major differences between West forces, with some recording major reductions.

Across England and Wales there were 21,181 operations when police officers were authorised to use firearms, with almost a quarter in London.

They fired their guns on just seven operations, up from three the previous year, but the Home Office declined to name the forces involved.

The data was released on the day an £8 million national gun crime database was unveiled to help police get firearms off the streets.

Firearms were authorised in Gloucestershire 162 times, a reduction of 118 on the previous year, in contrast to a national 17.5 per cent rise.

Assistant Chief Constable, Operations, Mick Matthews said: "These statistics, coupled with the fact we recorded 6,700 less crimes in 2007-08 than the previous year, demonstrate that the county is becoming an even safer place to live."

He added: "Our techniques for managing conflict situations are improving and situations which may previously have called for an armed response are being defused before such a response is required."

Avon and Somerset logged 328 deployments of armed officers, up 43 on the previous year, saying the rise was due to a positive approach to tackling serious crime, responding quickly to information suggesting the threat of a weapon.

The force says each time an armed response unit is called it costs £1,140 – equivalent to 27 bobbies patrolling a neighbourhood for an hour.

Ninety per cent of incidents requiring armed police attendance involved imitation guns or air weapons, and the force has launched an awareness campaign to highlight the dangers of having them.

It welcomed the launch of the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS), which will provide a register of all firearms and ammunition seized by police, and be able to compare guns and ballistic material to previous crimes within 48 hours.

Superintendent Nigel Rock said: "NABIS will give us vital intelligence and forensic information right at the beginning of our investigation, helping us to bring more people to justice and make the streets safer."

Since the service began three months ago, it has linked more than 100 incidents and worked with police investigating a fatal shooting at a Worcestershire village post office.

The death of postmaster's son Craig Hodson-Walker, who grew up in the Forest of Dean, shocked the nation, and four men have been accused of his murder during an alleged armed robbery.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the database, the first system of its kind in the world, would give detectives the "best possible tools" to get guns off the streets.