The Independent's front page, carries a dominant picture of a gun under the headline "a very British way of life, and death".

It chronicles a week of gun crime across Britain - showing how endemic guns have become, and how criminals use them with relative nonchalance.

On average - says the paper - there are 30 firearms incidents a day, and 100 people die as a result of gun-related crime each year.

According to the Guardian, the problem is being exacerbated by a growing supply of replica weapons converted to fire live ammunition.

The paper comments that the threat is particularly acute, because such replicas can be obtained legally over the counter in gun shops, or even in high street sports shops.

Even though it leads on the story, the Guardian - on its inside pages - goes on to question whether the panic about gun crime is justified.

It points out that although shootings have now spread to the countryside, firearms offences still account for only 0.4% of all recorded crime.

Football stories on and off the pitch

As the Financial Times observes, it has been a grisly two weeks for English football.

And Saturday's front pages do nothing to enhance the reputation of the national game.

"Soccer Rape: Two Stars Held" is the Daily Mail's main headline, while the Daily Mirror opts for "My Rape Case Hell" - a reference to the statement put out by the England international, Kieron Dyer, denying any involvement in the alleged rape of a teenage girl at a hotel in London.

But at last the papers also turn their attention to events on the pitch, as the home nations prepare for key matches this weekend in football and rugby union.

The Times has a front page picture of a face - one half is the England fly-half, Jonny Wilkinson; the other David Beckham.

"Two faces, two sports, one goal - England expects" - declares the headline.

Speculation over rebellion within Tory party

Like the world of football, the Conservatives may also have been hoping for more positive headlines after their annual conference in Blackpool.

The Daily Telegraph highlights the anger felt by Tory rebels at Iain Duncan Smith's threat to issue a public rebuke to those MPs plotting against him.

The Mail describes the threat as unprecedented and says it represents a huge escalation of the leadership's battle to quell the simmering rebellion.

'Smelly' town is property hotspot

Finally, the Daily Express highlights the latest figures suggesting house prices have risen to a record level - up by 13% so far this year, although in some areas, prices have increased by as much as 68%.

To find out which town is Britain's hottest property hotspot, you have to turn to the Mail, or the Daily Star.

And the place in question would hardly seem a sought-after location - says the Mail - since it is an industrial town known mainly for its rugby league team and derelict factories.

They are of course referring to Widnes in Cheshire, where the cost of an average home has gone up from about �95,000 to more than �155,000 in the past 12 months.