COMMUNITY leaders today spoke of their horror after a huge haul of ball-bearing guns was found in the back yards of three Burnley houses.

Weapons, including replica shotguns, sub-machine guns and pistols, were uncovered by police on patrol at the rear of Crowther Street, Burnley Wood. A second haul was also found by police yesterday, bringing the total number to more than 100.

An investigation has now been launched to find out where the weapons -ball-bearing guns - came from.

The guns, some still in their boxes, were found by Police Community Support Officer Bill Ogden and

PC John Fisher in the back yards of the empty houses during a routine patrol.

Officers said that although the guns were not illegal, leaving them lying around was very irresponsible and they are now keen to trace the owner of the weapons.

Police are carrying out door to door inquiries to try and find out the origin of the weapons.

PCSO Ogden said: "To the untrained eye, some of the weapons look very realistic and could have caused a great deal of alarm and distress had they fallen into the wrong hands."

Brian Fenn, of the Burnley Wood Action Group, said: "Although these were imitation guns the problem is that they look so realistic that nobody can tell the difference. The concern for the community is they could be used to commit an offence.

"Gun crime has never been a big problem in this area and there is not really a gang culture, but the fact that these guns are available for sale and could be used by criminals is a worry."

Rosehill with Burnley Wood Coun Colette Bailey added: "The area where these weapons have been found is mostly family homes where there are a lot of children so it is very frightening. The question now is where the guns have come from, how have they been made available and what was their intended use? It is very worrying.

"Things like this clearly do not belong in the community."

Crowther Street is a small row of mostly boarded up terrace houses.

Manager of Moss Pharmacy, Shakil Barbar, said: "I am not really surprised at this because this is one of the worst areas of Burnley. We find used needles all the time and I wouldn't be surprised if these houses are being used for shady activities.

"It is a concern that these guns have been found because they could be dangerous and could easily have been picked up by a child."

Enquiries are now being made to find out who left the weapons there and why. Anyone with any information is invited to contact police on 0845 1 25 34 45.