Police bullets left on car roof

The bullets belonged to an armed police unit

Bullets belonging to an armed police unit discovered at a roundabout may have fallen from the roof of patrol car, it has been revealed.

The 15 rounds of live ammunition were found in Reading's town centre by a member of the public on Tuesday, 7 October.

He flagged down a passing police patrol car after finding the bullets at the Bridge Street roundabout at about 2345 BST.

Armed officers were called to recover the bullets used in the force's Glock pistols and to make them safe.

It is now understood the magazine may have accidentally been left on the car roof during a routine change-over by officers, where weapons have to be checked to ensure they are in working order.

No further action taken

Superintendent George Wilson, head of Tactical Support, said: "To put this incident in context, the armed response vehicles carry out in excess of 2,700 change-overs per year and have now been operating for 10 years, making in the region of 30,000 change-overs.

"At each change-over officers check the functionality of the weapons which necessarily requires an unloading and loading procedure."

He added: "On this occasion the officers, using the roof of the vehicle to lay out equipment, left a spare magazine on the roof inadvertently which later came off the roof during their travels."

The discovery came in the wake of a recent shooting in the Elm Park area of the town, which left three people injured.

The Superintendent added: "As a result of the internal inquiry we have tightened some of the procedures during change-over which should prevent a recurrence.

"The officer concerned, who has been a firearms officer for some time, has an excellent record in relation to handling weapons. He has received advice and no further action will be taken."