Sheffield litter picker left shocked after finding GUN hidden in undergrowth

Scott Berg was tidying up a wildflower meadow in Gleadless Valley when he made the disturbing discovery on Wednesday, November 25.

He told how he had been cutting back some brambles and branches to clear the rubbish dumped there when he spotted a small case hidden beneath some leaves.

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"It looked like the sort of case you’d expect to find a tool set in so out of curiosity I opened it to see what was inside and much to my surprise there was a gun there,” he said.

Scott, who was volunteering with the Gleadless Valley Wildlife Trust at the time, alerted the task leader and the police soon arrived to collect the weapon and speak to him.

He says he’s still not sure whether it was a real firearm or an air gun, though comments on the Sheffield Litter Pickers Facebook group suggest it was a BB gun.

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It is legal to own an air weapon like that in the UK without a certificate but it is an offence to have one in a public place without a reasonable excuse. It is also an offence to have an air weapon with intent to damage or destroy property or to endanger life.

Scott said he had found the gun at a site known as Nether Springs, close to the Premier store on the corner of Leighton Road and Fleury Road, and off a footpath leading to homes on Spring Close Mount.

“It was quite far back and covered in vegetation so we reckoned it must have been there for a few years but (it’s) still better that it's dealt with properly by the police than in the hands of someone who might do some damage with it,” he said.

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"I don't know what the previous owner might have done with it but, the fact that they felt the need to dispose of it in that way says a lot.”

A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Police said: “Yesterday, November 25, a firearm was recovered by a worker in Sheffield. Enquiries are ongoing.”