Although made mostly of plastic, some air guns look realistic

One man was seen waving a gun at CCTV cameras in the city's Askham Bar Park and Ride car park off Tadcaster Road at 2045 BST on Thursday.

Two men then got into a vehicle and drove away before being stopped in the St George's Field car park near Skeldergate in the city centre.

After a search, officers from the North Yorkshire police armed response unit recovered a plastic ball bearing gun.

Reckless action

Police said this was the latest in a string of incidents involving ball bearing or pellet-firing air guns.

"Yet again, we have had to deploy armed officers to deal with a situation involving a ball bearing gun," said a North Yorkshire police spokesman.

"The crucial problem is that it looks like a real gun and the reckless action of certain individuals could ultimately have devastating consequences.

"Whether innocently or stupidly, young men, sometimes children, are using these pellet guns in public.

"If you have one use it on private land so the public aren't alarmed."