This is the moment a teenager with a toy gun was seconds away from being shot by armed police officers.

The striking CCTV footage shows the un-named man being confronted by cops called to reports that someone was walking down the street flashing what was thought to be a real gun at the public. But as the police approached, the man pulled the ‘weapon’ from his jacket to throw to the ground – and armed officers drew their pistols.“One later said how he began squeezing the trigger and was literally just a couple of millimeters from taking a shot,” said police firearms trainer Rob Pedley.“This lad came close to being killed and all because he fooling around with a toy gun and trying to worry people.”

It was only after the incident – at the junction of Newman Road and High Street, in Erdington, at 7.50pm on July 29, 2007 – had ended that police realized the gun was a toy. The CCTV footage is part of a new presentation that has been shown to 10,000 pupils across the region in an effort to steer teenagers away from gun crime and “deglamourise” gang culture. The hard-hitting Guns & Knives Take Lives project was launched a year ago and features a moving talk from Marcia Shakespeare, mother of innocent Aston shooting victim Letisha Shakespeare. Ms Shakespeare said: “We’re trying to save lives by encouraging young people to make the right choices and not to get involved in gang activities. “

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