Police chiefs are considering arming bobbies patrolling rural areas with handguns for the first time.

Britain's armed policing lead, Simon Chesterman, suggested yesterday that ordinary uniformed officers could be given guns to solve a shortfall in specialist firearms officers in some remote rural and coastal areas.

The controversial proposal would overturn Britain's long-standing tradition of routine unarmed policing.

It came as the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) announced yesterday that forces have been unable to meet the Government's target to boost the number of armed police on the streets to protect the UK from terror.

In the wake of the Paris and Brussels terror atrocities, Theresa May, who was then the home secretary, pledged £143million to train an extra 1,000 firearms officers.

Police on the beat could be given handguns as police chiefs begin to consider ways to combat a shortfall in firearms officers

But two years on, forces are still 100 officers short of the target, despite increasing the number of counter-terrorism specialist firearms officers (CTSFO) by 70 per cent and putting 25 per cent more armed response vehicles (ARV) on the roads.

Yesterday Mr Chesterman, the NPCC's lead on armed policing, said police chiefs are now having to consider 'innovative ways to bridge the gap' in armed police provision.

This is particularly the case in sparsely populated areas, where it would take too long for an ARV to arrive to tackle a terrorist on the rampage with a gun or knife.

The new NPCC proposal could see dozens of beat officers in large rural forces trained to carry a handgun on their belt alongside their usual duties.

Another solution would be to set up armouries at local police stations so officers could grab a handgun in the event of a Tunisia-style assault on a remote beach.

Mr Chesterman said: 'Years ago there were beat officers who would go to the armoury in the police station and put a handgun on and go out and resolve an armed incident. I'm not saying we are going back to those days but it is an option.

'One of the options is you look at frontline response officers, devise a role profile and a training course for them, and you train them in use of a firearm to help to bridge that gap between the initial response and when the ARV can get there.'

[MUST KEEP] But he added: 'I think it does not need to happen at the moment. We have to monitor the threat constantly... it's an option that remains on the table.'

The NPCC is in discussions with a 'handful' of large rural forces, including Devon and Cornwall Police.

Armed police response times to major incidents have improved significantly as a result of an extra 874 firearms officers being trained over the last two years.

There are now 6,465 police marksmen in England and Wales, although this is lower than the figure in March 2012, when there were 6,756.

In cities like London, Manchester and Birmingham, response times are within 10 minutes.

But in some large rural forces, a local ARV could be many miles away in the event of a terrorist atrocity, meaning it would be up to local officers to confront the attackers before armed back-up arrived.

Two of Britain's worst sustained shooting rampages - by Derrick Bird, who killed 12 people in Cumbria in 2010, and Michael Ryan, who killed 16 people in Hungerford in 1987 - happened in rural areas.

Police need more trained firearms officers according to the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC)

Mr Chesterman said officers do not want to volunteer to carry a gun as they fear they could end up 'gripping the rail at the Old Bailey' if they shoot someone and are then charged with killing them or face years of investigation.

He said: 'The public don't mind when we shoot a terrorist, they do mind when we shoot criminals. There is a lot more scrutiny, perhaps understandably.'

The top officer, who is the Deputy Chief Constable of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, said forces struggling to recruit have had to take existing ARV officers to fill counter terrorism roles, leaving their ranks overstretched.

He said: 'Delivering the uplift has been a bit like filling the bath with the plug out because clearly we are losing officers to other disciplines but also trying to recruit at the same time.'

There is no law to prevent police officers from carrying a firearm but when Robert Peel founded the 'New Police' in 1829, he established the notion of policing by consent and a doctrine of minimum force.

If frontline officers were to be routinely armed, it would not require Government approval and could be signed off by local police and crime commissioners.

Currently only highly trained firearms officers carry guns in Britain. They must go through a rigorous selection process with a high failure rate.

But the beat officers would receive only a few weeks of training under the proposal.

Ordinary uniformed officers could be trained to use guns as the Government seeks to cut down response times for armed officers in rural areas

Security expert Dai Davies, a former head of royalty protection at Scotland Yard said: 'I think this hysterical because the rationale to justify this move is not there.

'It's not like the film Hot Fuzz or how it was in my day when you could book out a gun and go and tackle someone with a gun and say 'you are nicked sunshine'.

'You have to psychologically and physically rigorously train someone to hold a gun and they have to be selected and then go on refresher courses.'

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said the force is not planning to arm bobbies on the beat and any change would involve a major public consultation.

'What we are now looking to do is increase our capability in responding to incidents where armed officers may be needed - this includes an uplift in the number of trained armed officers we have in the force and an increase in available ARV units,' the spokesman said.