Police say the 14-year-old was approached in a shopping mall in Hebburn, South Tyneside on Tuesday afternoon.

He was then shot in the face and leg with a weapon known as a BB gun, which fires ball bearings.

A spokesman for Northumbria Police said the boy, who has not been named, was hit beneath his left eye and in the leg.

He said the teenager was not seriously hurt, but they were investigating the incident as an assault.

Police throughout the country have in the past expressed concern about BB guns.

In some areas police marksmen have been called to incidents involving BB guns, because they appear so like real weapons.

The Northumbria Police spokesman added: " We believe we know who was responsible for the assault in the St James Mall at Hebburn and we looking for him and the gun.

"The victim was shot in the leg and underneath the left eye, but was not seriously injured."