Catapults could be lethal, says ballistic expert

Catapults are deadly weapons, an expert in ballistic wounds has told the BBC.

Dr Chris Shepherd, who has been running tests in an experimental ballistics facility at the University of Kent, described how a direct impact with bone "can cause really significant puncture type wounds".

Catapult crimes are not included in official statistics, so BBC Verify sent Freedom of Information requests to police forces in England and Wales, asking for crime records which mentioned the words "catapult" or "slingshot".

According to responses from 37 out of 43 forces, about 7,200 crime records from the five years to the end of 2024 mentioned the words.