Thames Valley Police have welcomed proposed new laws to outlaw imitation guns but until they come into force they are warning even a harmless plastic toy gun can look like a real weapon in the wrong situation.

Officers are calling on parents and teachers to educate children about the dangers of having realistic looking replicas and toys in public places, because they fear older children and teenagers could be putting themselves in danger.

PC Ian Jarvis shows how a cheap relica can look like the real thing The Oxford Mail investigated how easy it was to buy a replica gun, but the most realistic we could find over the counter was a black plastic cap gun costing less than £5.

On the Internet we discovered a Beretta lookalike ball bearing (BB) gun for less than £10 and air rifles made to look like machine guns.

Chief Insp Robin Gardner, head of the force's tactical firearms unit, said: "If a member of the public reports someone playing around with something that looks like a weapon, the only way we can respond is by sending armed officers.

He said in most instances, children are asked to sign a disclaimer, cautioned and the police confiscate and destroy the 'weapon'.

He said: "We need to educate children and their parents. There's always the risk someone with what looks like a weapon could get shot. Our officers have to make a split second decision."

Pc Gary Begnor, a member of the force's tactical firearms group, said: "It's not a problem if it's a small child waving a plastic gun around, because the chances are it will be a toy.

"The problem for us comes when you get older children congregating outside shops, and you're likely to get a genuine armed robbery."