POLICE are investigating claims that an 11-year-old boy fired a BB gun into a North Yorkshire school playground.

The incident happened at about 1.10pm towards the end of lunchtime break on Tuesday at Stillington Primary School, near Easingwold.

There were children playing in the playground when the boy is alleged to have fired a small number of pellets from a BB gun into the school yard.

Nobody was targeted or injured and police officers confiscated the gun after the incident.

The boy, a pupil at Easingwold School, was absent on Tuesday.

Stillington head teacher, Sarah Atkinson, has sent a letter to parents informing them of the incident, but did not want to comment when contacted by The Press yesterday.

The school in Main Street, Stillington, has only about 45 pupils on its roll.

One parent, who did not want to be named, said: “I am just shocked and saddened that such an incident could occur within a tight-knit community like Stillington. Part of the reason for moving here was it felt like the sort of village where I could watch my family grow up without having to worry.”

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: “We are speaking with the boy, his parents and the school to resolve the matter.”

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire County Council said: “The county council can confirm that no children were hurt in the incident and that the school and the authority have taken all necessary steps to ensure that children remain safe. The safety of children is a priority for school staff and the local authority at all times.”

BB guns are a type of air gun designed to shoot projectiles named BBs, named after the birdshot pellet of approximately the same size.