Boys discover pistol in river

The automatic hand gun, inside a leather case, was found by teenagers Luke Taylor and Daniel Briggs in shallow water, at low tide.

Luke, 15, and Daniel had been looking for discarded fishing weights and hooks when they spotted the gun, on the Littlehampton side of the bridge, near the east bank of the river. They took it home to show Luke's father, Stephen Taylor, at the family's home at Wick Street, Wick.

He immediately called the police, who took the gun away for further examination.

Said Mr Taylor: "The police thought it unusual that the gun should have been there. They thought it had been in the river for some time.

"It's a bit alarming when your son comes home with a gun. I thought it might have been used in a robbery or some other crime, or the owner might just have not wanted it any more. The hammer had been broken, so that might be why it was thrown in the river.

"It did cross my mind what might have happened if this had been a working gun, with live ammunition, and it had been discovered by a child.

"The moment I saw it, I didn't want it in the house. I just thought it was important to hand it in to the police right away. They said it could have been repaired and used again."

A police spokeswoman confirmed the gun appeared to have been in the river for some time. There was no evidence of anything sinister involved with the gun, which was a Mauser pistol. It has now been taken away and destroyed.