Armed police lock down Weston street after “toy gun” mistaken for real firearm

Armed police rushed to the scene of the incident on Walliscote Grove Rd yesterday (Thursday 28th) in Weston-super-Mare after receiving reports of a male with a firearm which turned out to be an airsoft gun.

Witnesses saw police speeding into Weston-super-Mare from the motorway in unmarked vehicles prior to the incident unfolding in which armed police were seen with their weapons drawn

Armed police with guns drawn in Weston-super-Mare (Photo: Supplied)

Police identified the male involved and was seen to surround him before handcuffing him and taking him away

Police surrounded a male with guns drawn (Photo: Supplied)

Avon & Somerset Police said in a statement;

“At 2.12pm we received a report of a suspected firearm inside a residential property in Walliscote Grove Road in Weston-super-Mare.

“Armed officers were deployed as a precaution and they arrested a man at the scene on suspicion of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He remains in police custody

“A suspected airsoft gun was seized from the property."

Police led the male away in handcuffs (Photo: Supplied)

An airsoft gun is a replica firearm that shoots small plastic pellets using compressed gas, spring power, or an electric motor.

They’re commonly used for recreational target shooting, training, and team-based combat simulation games called airsoft.