EMERGENCY services were called to reports of a firearm which had been discovered in mud in a river near to Wadebridge.

Officers from Devon and Cornwall Police, later joined by a crew from Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene after being contacted concerning reports of an item initially suspected to be a firearm weapon in the mud of the River Camel, near to Polmorla pumping station, during the afternoon of Tuesday, December 10.

After attending the scene, officers from Devon and Cornwall Police requested the assistance of fire crews from Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service’s Wadebridge community fire station in order to help retrieve the suspicious item from the mud.

After the successful retrieval of the suspicious item from the mud by emergency services, it was then passed to a specialist firearms officer for further identification of the ‘firearm’.

It was later confirmed by the specialist firearms officer to have been a ‘replica’ firearm that had been discovered at the scene.

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: “We were contacted during the afternoon on Tuesday December 10 following a report of a visible firearm in the River Camel, Wadebridge. We contacted Cornwall Fire and Rescue service who retrieved the firearm. It was confirmed to be a replica.”

A spokesperson for Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that they assisted Devon and Cornwall Police at the scene, adding: “At just after 7.30pm on December 10, a crew responded to assist Devon and Cornwall Police with an incident in the town centre.

“Firefighters assisted in the retrieval of a firearm that had been located in the mud by the Polmorla Pumping Station. The weapon was handed over to a specialist officer who confirmed it as a replica.”