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From The Times
July 6, 2007

Boy’s toy gun triggers police raid

CRADLEY HEATH Armed police confronted a ten-year-old boy who was showing his friend a plastic toy gun at his home.

Two officers armed with machineguns and others handling dogs went to the house in Cradley Heath, Staffordshire, after police received a report about groups of youths, some with firearms, in the area. They found Brodie-Cian showing off his new 18-inch black plastic gun to a friend.

Gail Pearsall, his mother, was also present. She said: “I suddenly saw the officers. They were saying, ‘Go, go go, move it’. Then they said, ‘Is that Brodie?’ I was so shocked I thought, ‘What on earth has my son done?’

“I just couldn’t believe it. There were ten of them in total. They then said they wanted the gun and they took it away into one of the cars and looked at it for half an hour.”

Brodie has been banned from taking the £10 gun, bought from a market stall, out in public. He said: “I was very frightened. There were loads of officers with guns and dogs. I thought maybe it was the gun.”

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