A 14-year-old boy had to be rushed to hospital after being shot in the stomach with an air rifle.

Waqar Qureshi was shot at close range as he played in a back street near his home in Lidget Green.

The youngster claimed his attacker was "waving the gun around like a toy" before he was hit by a pellet in the stomach near his home in Hartington Terrace.

The teenager's mother Tahira, 38, rushed her son to Bradford Royal Infirmary where surgeons operated on him to remove the metal pellet.

She said: "Finding him like that was like going to hell and back. I'd just gone to the shop and when I came back he was holding his stomach and in very much pain.

"Then I saw there was a hole in his stomach and blood coming out, so I took him straight to hospital.

"You don't expect this to happen when your child's playing outside your home."

A student at Grange School, Waqar was kept in hospital overnight and is still not well enough to resume his studies.

Bradford Police have not made an arrest yet but say their inquiries into the incident on Friday, which they are treating as grievous bodily harm with intent, are ongoing.

A spokesman said: "We have not had many offences of this nature reported and we do not consider these type of incidents to be a widespread problem, but isolated incidents like this can cause serious injury.

"These offences are always investigated thoroughly and the police do not welcome anyone carrying any type of offensive weapon in a public place. We will actively prosecute offenders."

Mrs Qureshi, however, still worries that most air guns, which do not require the buyer to have a licence, are too readily available.

"There should definitely be tougher laws," she said. "They shouldn't be allowed to walk around with them.

"Another kid could end up wounded like my son because someone's bought a gun and then used it like a toy."