Alert over as firearm in water turns out to be toy gun

A POSSIBLE firearm spotted in the water off Lerwick which sparked the attention of the police and the coastguard has been revealed as a toy gun.

The emergency services attended the waterfront of the North Ness business park on Wednesday following reports of an item which looked like a firearm in the sea.

Initial attempts by the Lerwick coastguard team to retrieve the item were unsuccessful, with an expectation that divers would need to be drafted in.

However, police confirmed on Thursday that the item was just a toy gun.

“Police Scotland can confirm that the item seen in the sea near North Ness Business Park in Lerwick on Wednesday, September 4 has now been recovered and identified as a toy gun,” a spokesperson said.

“We are grateful to the Lerwick Port Authority and HM Coastguard for their assistance with recovering the item.”

Police confirmed on Wednesday that there was no risk to the wider public.