A GUN with a violent history is to be auctioned in Headcorn this coming weekend. The .32 calibre Derringer gun was used in the murder of Edward Cunningham, a rich and upstanding citizen of Milton, Massachusetts, in 1889.

The weapon was an indirect catalyst for the formation of a police department in Milton, after town councillors voted to form a police department there five months after the shooting in a bid to prevent similar future incidents. The gun will be auctioned at the Weald of Kent Golf Club rooms on Sunday and is expected to fetch between £500 and £700. The sale begins at 9am.

Mr Cunningham left his estate to an aunt and a park in Milton is named Cunningham Park in his memory. Pauline McGowan, who works for Cranbrook-based auctioneers Desmond Judd, said: "The gun does have a bit of an odd story behind it. Hopefully it has only killed one person but we just don't know. People like things with a bit of history to them."