Armed officers may arrest youngsters caught with BB-guns

Officers have branded the plastic guns as a "menace" and are urging parents not to buy them as Christmas presents.

Armed officers are called out to every report of a gun sighting - even if it is suspected to be a toy.

Det Supt Paul Broadbent said: "Officers will not know whether a gun is real or an imitation until they seize it."

He added: "While our officers are highly trained, the potential for an imitation firearm to be mistaken for a real firearm is always a possibility."

A show of hands during one officer's visit to a South Yorkshire Primary school revealed that 60% of pupils already owned a replica gun, the force said.

Ninety percent of the pupils raised their hands in the same assembly when asked if they would like one.