Students making a movie sparked a gun alert in Colchester.
Today police warned people to be especially careful while there is heightened awareness about guns.
An alert was issued after armed officers were deployed in Colchester following a report of two men running around brandishing weapons.
Armed police went to East Hill after being told about the pair - one with a handgun and the other with a rifle - in the back yard of a property.
When officers got to the scene on Friday night they discovered the weapons were fakes being used by two students from the town making a film.
A police spokeswoman reminded people to be extremely wary because of the current heightened awareness about weapons.
She said the armed officers at the scene or at other similar incidents might not be able to distinguish replica firearms from the real thing, and it was fortunate nobody had been hurt. No-one was charged.
Published Monday, January 13, 2003
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