ARMED police officers swooped on a house in York this afternoon after worried residents reported seeing a man with a gun.

Members of the North Yorkshire Police tactical firearms unit were deployed to Beckfield Lane, Acomb, at lunchtime.

They executed a search warrant at the house and questioned a 20-year-old man at the address.

Police said the man handed officers the weapon he was seen with, which turned out to be a harmless starting pistol.

Superintendent John Lacy, operations commander for York and Selby, said: "At noon today, members of the police tactical firearms unit executed a warrant at a house in Beckfield Lane in response to information that the occupant may have been in possession of a firearm."

He said no offence had been committed, although officers were still searching the house as the Evening Press went to press.

Supt Lacy said the man had been spoken to by senior officers and warned of the dangers of having such an item.

He said: "Once again we have an incident which highlights the concern that members of the public have when they see someone with an imitation firearm."

Replica firearms, from blank-firers to soft-air pellet guns, have sparked an increasing number of similar incidents across York and North Yorkshire in the last few years.

Police have repeatedly warned of the potentially fatal consequences of having fake guns. It is often impossible in these situations for police to tell the difference between a fake gun and the real thing.

Updated: 16:10 Wednesday, December 11, 2002