Boy, nine, fired BB gun at Storrington Primary School

Three pupils, aged eight and nine, had minor bruising from pellets that ricocheted off the walls, the school said

A nine-year-old boy fired a BB gun at a primary school, injuring three pupils.

A boy and two girls suffered minor bruising when pellets from the gun ricocheted off the walls at Storrington Primary School, West Sussex.

Police said the boy had brought the weapon from home and officers had spoken to his family about gun safety.

Head teacher Marion Smith said the school was investigating and the safety of pupils and staff was of "paramount importance".

Sussex Police said a BB gun, containing plastic pellets, was discharged at the school on 28 March.

It said officers would be talking to the families of the injured children - two girls, aged nine, and an eight-year-old boy.

A spokesman added: "The family of the boy involved have been seen and advised about the safe keeping of BB guns, and we will be working with partner agencies to ensure the boy receives the support he needs to address his behaviour."

Head teacher Marion Smith "we are treating this as a very serious incident and have followed the matter up with the relevant authorities"

Ms Smith: "We had an incident in school on Thursday when a child discharged a BB gun and the plastic pellets hit three children.

"Thankfully, none of the children were badly hurt. However, we are treating this as a very serious incident and have followed the matter up with the relevant authorities. The safety of our pupils and staff is of paramount importance to us."

She added that parents had been informed and the school's senior leadership team was reviewing the incident to "assess whether there are steps we can put in place to ensure this does not happen again".

Pellet guns and BB (ball-bearing) guns are a form of "soft" air weapon but not categorised as firearms as the pellets do not contain any explosive substance and generally do not require certification.