YOUNG children were herded into a nursery as a teenage gunman opened fire on their premises.

The boy, believed to be around 14-years-old, fired repeatedly at the Bright Sparks kindergarten building in Walshaw Road, Bury, as the youngsters played outside.

And the proprietor has questioned why police officers took almost an hour and a half to respond to Wednesday's (Aug 23) call for assistance.

Mrs Andrea Redman said: "This boy was in the nearby Elton playing fields, which is at the side of our building.

"He then went round to the back and started firing, aiming at the windows. A member of my staff saw what was happening and the children who were playing outside were brought in immediately. "He was just firing willy-nilly but thankfully no windows were damaged. We don't know exactly what type of weapon was used."

She says the thug was the same boy who days earlier had been climbing on the roof of the premises, forcing staff to call the police.

Commenting on the delay in the police response to Wednesday's shootings, Mrs Redman said: "The best interests here are for the safety of the children and that was our priority during this incident.

"I would have expected a much more prompt reaction from the police."

A spokesman for Bury police said they received a call from the nursery at 4.10pm, although officers didn't arrive until 5.30pm.

He added: "We had been extremely busy and officers en route were diverted to a more serious incident, a road traffic incident which had possible serious injuries."

Commenting on the shootings, he added: "A search was made of the area. No damage was caused. We are unsure if it was an air weapon that was used."