Guernsey police to treat BB guns as real firearms

People who are found carrying a BB gun in Guernsey will be treated as though they are in possession of a firearm, police say.

The change comes after a BB gun, an air gun which fires metal pellets, was used in an armed robbery.

Det Ch Insp Ruari Hardi said: "Any item that looks like a gun is seen as a threat."

The change would "highlight to criminals the risk they take when using a BB gun to commit offences," he said.

A 15-year-old used a BB gun to threaten a worker at the Longstore Handy Stores, last October.

He was sentenced to 30 months in youth detention, on Monday.

Guernsey Police were unable to give statistics on how many BB guns were recovered at crime scenes.