A GUN which was found at the bottom of the drained canal in Middlewich has now been confirmed to be a BB gun. 

A large part of the embankment above the aqueduct which carries the Shropshire Union Canal over the River Wheelock, collapsed in the early hours of Friday morning.

As a result, the Canal and River Trust have had to drain a long stretch of the canal.

A member of the public spotted a gun on the bed of the canal and informed the police, who collected it. 

Cheshire Police told the Guardian on Friday that they had not yet been able to determine whether the firearm was real or not. 

It has now been confirmed by police that the firearm recovered was a BB gun - a type of air gun designed to shoot metallic ball projectiles.