Police warn parents not to buy BB guns

Date published: 05/12/2007

Carry a ball-bearing gun and you could be looking at a five-year jail term - that’s the stark police warning as part of a crackdown in the run up to Christmas.

The imitation firearms - which fire plastic pellets - are cheap to buy and are often sold in newsagents.

But new legislation, introduced in October, makes it a criminal offence to carry an imitation gun in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, with a minimum five-years’ in prison if caught.

Police are now urging parents not to buy ball-bearing guns for their children this Christmas.

Retailers are also being reminded about new legislation making it illegal to manufacture, import or sell any realistic or imitation guns.

These include soft air guns, starter pistols, cigarette lighters, blank firers and cap guns.

Some 75 per cent of incidents that Greater Manchester Police’s armed-response unit is called to turn out to be young people with imitation guns.