A Sunday afternoon walk in the woods with the dog turned into a drama when three young girls found a gun.

Millie Downes, 11, her sister Rosie, nine, and friend Ane Lewis, nine, unearthed a Ruger 85 automatic pistol in Bluebell Woods, at Braishfield.

Mum, Jenny, took these pictures after the girls discovered the weapon with the aid of Millie’s metal detector.

“Millie’s had the metal detector for a couple of years now and this is the most exciting this she’s ever found,” said Jenny. “She loves spy and detective stories, so she was thrilled to find a gun.”

Fearing the gun may have been loaded, Jenny immediately called the police, who came to investigate and later confirmed that the gun was a replica. However, the girls and their mother had done the right thing by reporting the find.