Inner city children will be encouraged to take up shooting in the countryside as part of a new education initiative drawn up by a pro-hunting group.

The Countryside Alliance is setting up a charitable educational wing, inviting city children to rural areas to learn about shooting, fishing and farming.

Labour MP Kate Hoey, chairman of the Countryside Alliance, revealed the plans during a meeting in Worcester.

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Ms Hoey said she wanted to bridge the divide between inner cities and rural areas, but the plan was dismissed by anti-gun campaigner and Birmingham Labour MP Steve McCabe as a gimmick.

The Alliance's proposals, due to be introduced at Easter, come as campaigners fight for a change in the law to allow Britain's Olympic shooting team to train in the UK.

A ban on handguns has forced team members to travel to Switzerland to practise and, with London staging the 2012 Olympics, supporters fear their chances of success will be jeopardised by the restriction.

Ms Hoey, the MP for Vauxhall, has already invited youngsters from her inner-city London constituency to a clay pigeon shoot to educate them about guns.

She said: "What I am interested in is the huge divide between inner city areas and the countryside.

"I have taken some constituents to experience the countryside and have a go at clay pigeon shooting. I think it is important that children understand that shooting can be a great fun sport where we win medals and children are taught about the discipline about handling a weapon."

Her ideas were branded as a "cheap publicity gimmick" by Mr McCabe.

The Hall Green MP said: "She is one of these people who take this view that it is absolutely essential that kids growing up in the inner city should learn how to use shotguns and I am deeply sceptical that this is no more than a rather cheap advertising gimmick from a lobby group.

"I myself don't think the present priority for children growing up in inner city Birmingham today is to learn how country people go out and shoot. I would rather put my energy into kids improving their reading, writing, maths and social skills and learning about the community they live in."

Ms Hoey said encouraging inner-city children to shoot in the countryside would not entice them to use illegal guns on the streets.

"Anti-social young people are going to do that anyway - what we are doing is showing youngsters the opportunity that shooting can be a properly disciplined sport," she said.

Her comments echo those of former Countryside Alliance chief executive Richard Burge, who caused controversy a few years ago when he suggested all children should be allowed to handle guns.

Speaking to The Birmingham Post, he said youngsters needed to be educated about the dangers of the weapons and one of the methods that could be used would be super-vised access.

The Government introduced a total ban on handguns in 1997 following the Dunblane massacre but the Countryside Alliance has said that since then crimes involving firearms have increased.

Ms Hoey said the CA's educational wing would encourage children into the countryside to take part in a variety of field sports as well as visiting farms.

She added: "Everybody who cares about the countryside needs to work together. The divide between urban and rural areas needs to be made smaller and a great way is getting young people interested in the countryside. The educational wing of the Alliance will work with young people and old people to try to achieve this."