Romsey police are issuing a warning to owners of BB guns that they risk prosecution and seizure of their weapon if they are caught carrying or using them in a public place.

The warning follows two incidents in which BB guns were recently used in the Romsey area. In one an 8-year old Timsbury boy was slightly injured in the leg and chest when a 14-year old boy deliberately discharged his gun at the boy.

In the other a commercial vehicle was fired at by a group of teenagers as it drove along Slab Lane in West Wellow. Although the driver was not injured, the incident had the potential to be quite serious.

Romsey police Sector Inspector Peter Funnell said: "The availability of these weapons on the Internet makes it very easy and relatively cheap for youngsters to obtain them and although they are perceived by some to be nothing more than toys, they do have the potential to cause serious injury. In addition, to an onlooker they look very real and their realism can cause alarm and distress to innocent members of the public who do not realise they are 'replicas'.

Mr Funnell is also concerned that people carrying these weapons in public could suddenly find themselves confronted by armed police officers who could be deployed to the scene of an incident where the sighting of a weapon has been reported.