After an armed siege at Heslington, York's top policeman, Chief Superintendent Tim Madgwick, called for a blanket ban on imitation weapons. Reporter Dan Jones found it remarkably easy to get his hands on one.

LESS than five minutes.

Amazingly, that's all it took me to buy this replica Walther PPK pistol.

The £20 imitation is believed to be the same weapon that triggered a five-hour armed siege at Heslington on Tuesday.

With York's top policeman calling for a total ban on replica guns before tragedy strikes, the remarkable ease with which I managed to snap one up from a high street shop is bound to raise serious safety concerns.

Blue Moon Trading, in Goodramgate, York, is packed with replica weapons. From the humble PPK through to rifles worth hundreds of pounds, there's something to keep all shooting enthusiasts happy - and they are perfectly legal.

Less than 24 hours after the peaceful conclusion at Heslington - and with nearby Evening Press billboards showing dramatic pictures of the stand-off involving David Roustoby - I walked into Blue Moon to make my purchase.

The German PPK was nestled in the corner of the shop and I made the £19.95 transaction with owner Stuart Sykes in a matter of minutes and with minimum fuss.

No questions were asked about why I wanted the weapon, famous for its James Bond links, but which fires 6mm plastic pellets.

As I handed over the cash, I asked if sales like this ever caused any problems for the police. Mr Sykes said "once every blue moon" there was a "fool" who misused them. But he added: "I sold one to a guy at 2pm one Saturday. By 4pm he'd held up a petrol station in Pontefract."

I walked away with the gun in a carrier bag.

A day earlier, David Roustoby says he took his PPK out of a safe and showed it to his partner's 16-year-old son.

That kick started a dramatic chain of events ending with nine armed policemen training real guns on Mr Roustoby.

Hours after visiting the shop, I contacted Mr Sykes, told him about my undercover purchase, and said some York residents might be concerned about replica gun sales in the wake of Heslington.

As long as customers were over 17 and he believed they did not have any drug, alcohol or mental problems, he said sales were not a problem.

"I've been here for the last six years and we treat each person on their merits," he said, adding that he vaguely recalled Mr Roustoby buying a PPK a few months ago.

"As long as they look normal, you can get hold of them very easily," he said.

Asked whether the responsibility of a sale should be in his hands, Mr Sykes compared the situation to a landlord of a pub selling beer, or a bike dealer selling motorbikes.

"You will always get one fool, but 99 out of 100 customers just love their target sports or are replica collectors.

"It's a genuine hobby."

Updated: 11:05 Thursday, November 04, 2004