'Military weapon' found at Booker was a replica (From Bucks Free Press)

'Military weapon' found at Booker was a replica

2:44pm Thursday 15th November 2012 in News By Simon Farr

THE ‘military weapon’ discovered buried in the ground at Booker Common was in fact a replica, police revealed today.

An area or Horns Lane was cordoned off for two days last month after a member of the public reported disturbed ground in the woodlands.

Armed police and forensics descended on the location to investigate and a 23-year-old man was arrested last week on suspicion of possessing a weapon for the discharge of noxious liquid or gas.

But he was released without charge on Tuesday after experts found the equipment was not in fact a military weapon – but a replica.

Chief Inspector Colin Seaton, deputy area commander for Wycombe, told the BFP today: “I understand there has been concern within the community following our recent investigations in Booker.

“With any incident of this nature we do have to make sure that it is thoroughly investigated, and take every possible step to ensure the safety of the public in the meantime.

“We can now confirm that, after being examined by specialists, the equipment that was found is not actually military equipment, but a replica.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused while our investigation was in progress and hope that you can understand our reasons why we responded as we did.”