A GUN was pulled out from a lake in Eastleigh by an 8-year-old boy committed to helping the environment.

Over the past few years, young Eastleigh boy, Ethan McNeill, has developed an interest in "magnet fishing", where he regularly uses a metal detector and various magnetic devices to clear the counties ponds and lakes of metal waste.

While he has pulled out tonnes of metal and interesting objects from the water, Ethan had never been more shocked when he pulled out a gun from Lakeside in Eastleigh during a socially distanced metal fishing session with his dad on Saturday May 23.

After pulling the air weapon from the lake and calling the police, the 8-year-old was thanked by officers for his hard work and was able to take a picture with the police car.

Ethan's dad, Wayne, is "very proud" of his son for being committed to helping the environment.

He said: "It was such a strange discovery, but Ethan was over the moon. He first started metal fishing two years ago after watching videos of it being done on Youtube, and he's been non-stop ever since. Before the lockdown, we were going every weekend to different lakes, and he would pull out as much metal as he could.

"We scrap any waste or dangerous items and he keeps a collection of 'interesting finds' in the garage. We've found all sorts, from a safe, to a shopping trolley.

"Ethan found the gun on his last throw of the day and was over the moon, it was on his bucket list of finds and he hasn't stopped talking about it. His hobby is helping the environment and I'm very proud of him, he's an amazing little lad."

A Hampshire Police spokesperson said: "We received a report just after 10.30am on Saturday 23 May after it was reported a handgun had been found in the water at Lakeside Country Park in Eastleigh.

"The item was identified by officers as an air weapon. It was collected and taken to a police station where officers made it safe before having it destroyed."