Youngsters in Greater Manchester who carry imitation weapons in public have been warned they risk a confrontation with armed police.

Tactical firearms unit officers from Greater Manchester Police are going into schools for the first time on Wednesday to advise school pupils on the issue.

During the last year armed officers have been called to a number of incidents in the region that have been sparked by a youngster carrying a dummy weapon.

The school sessions are designed to make it clear that officers called to an incident do not always know the weapon is not real.

Inspector Brian Davies, of the firearms unit, told BBC GMR: "Also, officers can't always tell what a person's motivation is, or the level of threat they pose to innocent bystanders.

"It may result in firearms officers pointing real guns at people.

"We don't want that to happen when we're dealing with young children who are in possession of imitation firearms, weapons or so-called ball bearing guns."