ARMED police descended on a Hampshire town after three teenagers were spotted carrying an air gun.

Police targeted a car park off the A35 at Lyndhurst after a member of the public saw the youths carrying what appeared to be a large rifle before getting into a car.

Officers from the armed response vehicle unit at Totton and the tactical firearms support unit at Netley were sent to the area at about 1.40pm on Thursday.

They stopped the car and found an imitation firearm, a ball-bearing firing air rifle, in the boot.

Three 17-year-old males, one from New Milton and two from Bournemouth, were arrested and taken to Lyndhurst police station. They were later released having received a final warning.

Inspector Elliott Brown, who leads the tactical firearms support unit, said: "BB guns and imitation fire arms are not toys.

"The response to this incident clearly demonstrates the risk that people - and in this case these young men - put themselves under.

"When a member of the public calls us to report a firearm, we have a duty to respond to remove that potential danger from the street.

"Police response to firearms incidents which turn out to have involved replica weapons costs taxpayers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

"Our message is simple. These are not toys. Do not carry them around, stop your children from buying them and taking them out in public and reduce the risk to them and the community."