Just thought id share this. Something I found while trying to familiarize myself with our rights etc. Makes for interesting reading anyway......
http://englandcalling.wordpress.com/201 ... england-2/
The right of self defence in England
The right of self defence in England
This is the most important bit for anybody thinking about discussion of weapons here:
"As for other weapons, if the police want to pick you up for possessing an offensive weapon there is a fair chance they can do so even if you do not mean to carry one. Forget about knives or coshes, which are complete no, nos, you are conceivably committing an offence if you have an aerosol of hairspray about your person or a hammer, for the 1953 Prevention of Crime Act creates a general offence of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, an offensive weapon being anything from a gun to a piece of wood or stone or a kitchen knife which is made, adapted or intended to cause physical injury to a person."
Which is why I ask you to very careful about such discussions here (or anywhere else public) You could be setting yourself up for a ton of legal trouble if you use what you have spoken about in public.
"As for other weapons, if the police want to pick you up for possessing an offensive weapon there is a fair chance they can do so even if you do not mean to carry one. Forget about knives or coshes, which are complete no, nos, you are conceivably committing an offence if you have an aerosol of hairspray about your person or a hammer, for the 1953 Prevention of Crime Act creates a general offence of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, an offensive weapon being anything from a gun to a piece of wood or stone or a kitchen knife which is made, adapted or intended to cause physical injury to a person."
Which is why I ask you to very careful about such discussions here (or anywhere else public) You could be setting yourself up for a ton of legal trouble if you use what you have spoken about in public.
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail - Benjamin Franklin
Re: The right of self defence in England
Got to agree with Scoobie, you may well have to join to post, but anyone can read what we say here, we often speculate about SHTF scenarios, but fior the most part our preparedness mindset is on the more mundane scenarios which are all but certainties (illness, unemployment, bad weather, car breakdown), sure self defence is a worry, but a course in such a thing would possibly be more use than a lethal object at hand everywhere you turn in your home (can't help but think of Inspector Cluesoe and his home help) for some here self defence at home could well involve pelting intruders with dozens of cans of four penny mushy peas ( could be cheaper than most ammunition for "proper" weapons too) used tins and their lids ought to have some defencive use too, I have cut myself more on tin lids washing them to recycle than I ever did using a stanley knife too strip cable when I was an electrician 
Outside the home too as Scoobie said you could be risking prosecution carrying something which could be considered offensive, add to that if you are inexperienced in it's use, it is more likely to be a danger to you than an effective defence.
I too have lots of things which I consider tools and toys around, yet what you would consider as weapon is either locked away or at least it's projectiles are, burglars would only have my alarm, then me, and possibly our Rottie ( who only barks at the doorbell, seagulls, and fireworks) and lies there letting me go and check if the alarm goes off, generally a cat getting itself locked in a downstairs room at night to be fair, and I add I know which sensor is triggered be it vibration/shock on widows and doors, doors being opened, or infra red type motion detectors, before I investigate in an allready illuminated house, by the time I have put my tracky bottoms on when it has been someone trying a window they've been off over the wall or down the road before any hope of confrontation, I never called the police, just reset and went back to bed
Outside the home too as Scoobie said you could be risking prosecution carrying something which could be considered offensive, add to that if you are inexperienced in it's use, it is more likely to be a danger to you than an effective defence.
I too have lots of things which I consider tools and toys around, yet what you would consider as weapon is either locked away or at least it's projectiles are, burglars would only have my alarm, then me, and possibly our Rottie ( who only barks at the doorbell, seagulls, and fireworks) and lies there letting me go and check if the alarm goes off, generally a cat getting itself locked in a downstairs room at night to be fair, and I add I know which sensor is triggered be it vibration/shock on widows and doors, doors being opened, or infra red type motion detectors, before I investigate in an allready illuminated house, by the time I have put my tracky bottoms on when it has been someone trying a window they've been off over the wall or down the road before any hope of confrontation, I never called the police, just reset and went back to bed
I have a strategy, it's not written in stone, nor can it be, this scenario has too many variables, everything about it depends on those variables, being specific is not possible.