Man 'aimed rifle' during under-10s' football match

A police investigation was launched after a man apparently armed with a rifle turned up at the touchline of an under-10s football match.

Referee Nick Fish said the individual appeared with the item at Ledbury Rugby Club in Herefordshire on Saturday morning before walking off into nearby woods.

Mr Fish said a photo of the man - shared with the BBC and revealing him at a pitch side looking down a barrel-like fitting on the device - was shown to two police officers who were called to the scene.

West Mercia Police said a search was carried out of the area but no suspect or firearm was located.

However, Mr Fish - who suspended the game for for more than an hour and took the children off the pitch - was surprised at the initial response of the force, saying they did not initially declare it as a firearms incident.

The force later said that once it was made aware of the incident it responded accordingly, before realising "the sighting took place several hours before it was reported to police."

Mr Fish resumed the game only after he was told it was safe to do so, he said.

He is the welfare officer for Ledbury Swifts FC, although it's not clear whether they were playing on Saturday.

The incident was "scary" for those who saw the man, who appeared from the image - taken by a parent - to be pointing the device as he looked down its barrel, Mr Fish added.

Parents had been "quite shocked", he said.

He told the BBC he did not know whether it had been a real gun or a replica, but irrespective of that detail, he explained: "I don't understand people's mentality of doing that at a football match."

The referee said he was due to meet with police again to discuss the matter further.

Mr Fish also urged the man to come forward and talk to police to clear up the situation.

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