Man arrested and four air rifles seized following incident in Litherland

A man has been arrested and four air rifles seized following an incident in Litherland last night, Wednesday 5 March.

At around 8.30pm, we received several reports that a man was shouting abuse at residents on Kirk Road and making threats.

It was further reported that the man was in possession of a suspected firearm and armed officers were called to the scene.

A 57-year-old from Litherland was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm without a certificate and possession of an offensive weapon in a private place. He is currently in police custody.

Following a search of a home, four air rifles were found and they have now been seized.

Detective Inspector Paul McVeigh said: “Thanks to the fast response from officers, a man has been arrested and four air rifles have been seized.

“The sight of a man holding what appeared to be a viable firearm would have undoubtedly caused a lot of concern for local residents. To the untrained eye, air rifles can appear to be real firearms and will cause a lot of fear in the community.

“By seizing these air rifles, it means there are now less weapons on our streets and a man is in custody who will be questioned about this incident.

“We rely on community intelligence to discover where weapons are being stored and who is using them and I want to thank the people who reported this offence and also ask that the public continue to be our eyes and ears.”

Anyone with any information about criminal activity in their neighbourhood is asked to call Merseyside Police on 101, DM us @MerPolCC or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.