JUST because something is a fake doesn't stop it from causing very real problems.

Our report tonight about replica guns illustrates once again that these so-called toys are a potential danger.

It is alarming that almost 500 complaints about these pretend weapons have already been made this year in North Yorkshire - with the figure rising for every month of the year so far.

Fake guns are now so realistic that even the practiced eye of a police marksman can be fooled. Faced with a split-second decision about whether or not a suspect is carrying a real or a fake gun, how can an officer under pressure tell?

This shoot-or-not dilemma was illustrated all too graphically in London in 1999 when police shot dead a painter and decorator who had been carrying a table leg. If experienced police officers can mistake a piece of wood for a gun, they have little chance of distinguishing between a fake firearm and the real thing.

The dangers of reproduction guns became apparent again in York last November when a fake Walther PPK led to a five-hour siege, which, thankfully, ended without anyone being harmed.

In a society in which guns appear to be ever more of a threat, there should be no place for these pointless, dangerous "toys". It would be safer for everyone if they were removed from the streets.

That way at least police would know for sure that they were looking at a real gun capable of doing all too real damage.

Updated: 11:02 Monday, July 18, 2005