Home Secretary Jack Straw is being asked to tighten the laws surrounding the sale of gas-powered guns, following an undercover investigation by the Bristol Evening Post.

The call comes after the paper revealed how the BB guns had become the latest craze for teenagers in the city.

And it follows a spate of incidents where youngsters carrying the guns have terrified bystanders.

Local MP Roger Berry has written to Mr Straw to demand a crackdown on the weapons and to urge the Home Secretary to hold talks with police chiefs to find ways to make the guns more difficult to obtain.

He praised the Evening Post for highlighting the danger.

Mr Berry said: “I don’t want to act in a knee-jerk fashion and call for an immediate ban on these guns. But there would have to be very powerful reasons for it to be legal to continue to sell guns of this kind.

“I want the Home Office to consult with the police on reviewing legislation, because the gun laws are not strong enough. And that needs to be done urgently.”

The Evening Post revealed how the £40 guns were legally on sale in toy and model shops across Bristol.

No licence is needed for the guns, which are virtually identical to real firearms and can fire pellets up to 75 metres.

They can be legally bought by anyone aged 17 and over and youngsters aged 14 and upwards can “possess the guns under supervision”.

Last year, Avon and Somerset police officers seized more than 120 air and gas-powered guns.

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