Lucia Coerman secures acquittal in imitation firearm case

Church Court Chambers’ Lucia Coerman has secured an acquittal for a 14-year-old boy charged with possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, after a court ruled that the brightly-coloured BB gun involved could not legally be classed as an imitation firearm under the Firearms Act 1968.

The charge arose after two boys were seen playing with a BB/airsoft gun in the back of a car. The complainant reported that the boys were “joking and pulling faces” at her, alleging that the gun had been pointed in her direction. The defence denied any pointing of the gun, accepting only that the boys had been “messing around.”

During cross-examination, the complainant faced detailed questioning on multiple inconsistencies between her 999 call and her later police statement. Notably, in the emergency call she admitted she “could not be sure” whether the gun was real.

At the halfway stage, Lucia submitted there was no case to answer, arguing that the BB gun did not meet the statutory test of an “imitation firearm” under s.57(4) of the Firearms Act. The court heard that the gun was a two-tone, brightly coloured airsoft toy -specifically manufactured to ensure it could not be mistaken for a real firearm.

Relying on Home Office guidance on Realistic Imitation Firearms, counsel emphasised that two-tone airsoft guns are deliberately coloured to avoid any resemblance to genuine weapons. On that basis, Ms Coerman argued the item fell outside the legal definition required for the charge.

The court agreed, ruling that the prosecution could not establish that the object was an imitation firearm capable of being mistaken for a real gun. Combined with the inconsistencies in the witness evidence, the bench concluded there was no case to answer.

The teenager was duly acquitted.

Lucia was instructed by Deborah Hogg of Freemans Solicitors.