THE father of one of the teenage girls who sparked outrage when they were caught on CCTV brandishing imitation guns has spoken of her shame and regret.

Natalie Smith and Corry-Lea Walsh, both 15-year-old pupils at Buile Hill High School in Salford, were arrested and cautioned after shocking images of them pointing the fake weapons were revealed by the M.E.N.

John Smith, 47, told the M.E.N. that Natalie and her friend had `learnt a lesson' from a `humiliating' seven-hour ordeal in which they were locked in the cells and interviewed at Pendleton police station on Saturday.

Mr Smith, a father of four from Swinton, said his daughter was a `good lass' who had been `silly and stupid'.

He said: "She's very sorry, she's gutted. She's never been in trouble before and has been scared to death by the whole thing. I'm hoping she won't have a hard time at school because she's been through enough and is already really shaken up."

He added: "She should have known better than to act the fool in town, but when you are young you don't think always think about what's happening around you."

Shock

Mr Smith said he knew nothing of what Natalie had done until the police called at his house on Friday night. He said the officers asked to search the property for firearms, giving him a `massive shock'.

At the time the police called Natalie was out with friends but her father took her to Swinton police station as soon as she returned. He was told to take her to Pendleton station the following morning and on arrival she was arrested.

The CCTV footage shows the girls swigging vodka as they smile and point the fake guns. Mr Smith said he felt their antics had been `blown a bit out of proportion', but `understood' that their behaviour could cause fear and alarm in the wake of recent shootings.

The father said that on the day the girls were caught on camera Natalie had left home to go swimming at the Aquatics Centre. At some point in the day they had bought the toy guns from a city centre `pound shop'.

He said: "They had bought some swords from the shop and were going to take pictures of each other playing `stand and deliver' with them. But when they got to the counter they saw the guns on sale for a pound and swapped them. They were going to pose for pictures in `gangsta' poses."

Natalie's dad said it was `unethical' for stores to sell realistic toy guns to children since possession of an imitation firearm was a criminal offence.

Banned

He said: "If you can get charged with having a replica firearm that's a toy they should be banned - or at least made a different colour. Are they going to charge five-year-olds for playing outside with toys and scaring the old lady down the street?

"I was annoyed about what Natalie and her friend did, particularly about the booze, and understand what people walking past might have thought. But if this was something serious it should have got an immediate response from police - not three weeks after."

Mr Smith said he had confiscated toy guns from Natalie's younger brother `just in case'.

He added: "The whole thing has been very humiliating for Natalie. She's a responsible girl who gets her head down at school and passes her tests, she should have known better.

"I don't want people to think the young lasses are running around with guns because they are not. They were kids playing with a plastic gun in the street at the wrong time. It was a one-off thing, and Natalie's learnt her lesson, of which being locked up was a part."

The girls drunken antics were captured by shop owner David Arathoon, who was alerted to their behaviour by a `disgusted' passer-by. Police have vowed to crack down on underage drinking.

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