AN 11-year-old boy has been suspended from a Hampshire school after threatening to shoot pupils with a toy gun, the Daily Echo can reveal.

The youngster took the weapon, similar to the one pictured below, to school and boasted he would shoot his terrified classmates.

He had the gun in his trouser pocket and repeatedly pulled the trigger making a "clicking noise" while looking at fellow pupils.

One boy was so shaken he was sent home apparently ill from Bellemoor School. It was only after he told his mother about the gun that school staff were alerted.

Head teacher Cassie Ellins (above) said she only became aware of the incident when a frantic parent turned up at the school and told her what was happening.

Ms Ellins said she went straight to the Year 7, first year senior school class, where she removed the boy, made him hand over the gun and then placed him in isolation.

She later inspected the weapon and when she touched the trigger it fired a ball bearing which smashed into a radiator, chipping the paint work. The boy, who cannot be named, has since been suspended from school for five days.

The incident came just a day after a teenage girl was shot dead by a fellow pupil at a school in Colorado, USA.

Police have been informed and are planning to remove the gun from Bellemoor School in Shirley, Southampton. They also confirmed they are considering visiting the boy at home.

Council education bosses have also been in contact with the school and are considering whether to launch an investigation into the incident.

Parents at the 592 pupil school for boys are expected to receive a letter about the incident today.

A special assembly has already been held to warn children about the dangers of guns and other weapons.

But the mother of the boy left terrified by the incident said punishment should be more severe for pupils found to be in possession of weapons.

"I don't think a five-day exclusion for something that serious is enough. You can't tolerate that sort of behaviour. Five days is nothing and to bring him back to the school to the same situation will not make a difference to the other children. I think the school's policies are too soft if that is all they are doing."

Speaking about how the incident unfolded on Tuesday, she added: "I got a phone call saying I should pick up my child because he was unwell. I saw he was shaking and he told me what went on.

"He said the pupil had told the class he was going to bring in a BB gun.

"He had put his hand in his pocket and said to my son I told you I would bring it'. He said I will keep it and shoot you at break time.'"

Ms Ellins has defended her actions and said the school took such matters "extremely seriously".

She said: "Most of the youngsters in this school are extremely well behaved. This is an extremely rare occurrence.

"We took immediate action. "The school handled the situation very promptly.

"There will also be mediative and restorative action with the boy.

"I have excluded him for a proper period of time. He was isolated from the other children until his parents came to collect him."

She added that pupils should be allowed to make "one mistake" at a school. She said: "He is a Year 7 Boy. He is just 11 years old. He has been in the school for a fairly short period of time.

"Do you permanently exclude for just one incident?"

Insp Paul Strassheim from Shirley police said: "An officer has been assigned to visit the school and to see if any further action needs to be taken. With juveniles we consider issuing them with a warning depending on the seriousness of the incident. Possessing these guns is not illegal. They are basically toys and are not controlled by legislation."