A LITTER picker clearing away the usual flurry of cans and wrappers near Jumbles Country Park discovered a crossbow in the bushes.

Val Hulme, who lives in Bromley Cross, often goes out litter picking in areas around her home and tackled the area around Jumbles last weekend.

While the normal cans, trainers and other waste made its way into her bag, she was shocked to discover a crossbow in the area.

And Val said police officers who attended told her that some crossbows were being illegally modified to make them deadlier.

She said: “I was on a litter pick by myself when a lady came up to me with a dog and pointed it out to me. She even asked if I could fit in my bag, but I thought that I better call the police for it.

“The police officer said that it was a lethal weapon and people seemed to be modifying them and making them more dangerous than they already are. Not the one I found but it would still be a lethal weapon in the wrong hands.”

Crossbows are legal in the UK and no licence or registration is required to own them, because they are not legally classed as firearms. A crossbow - like knives and bats - can be classed as an “offensive weapon” if carried in public and risks a prosecution.

The weapons have been used in many attacks on people over the last few years, with some MPs calling for tighter restrictions on them.

Local councillor Samantha Connor said: “With regards to the crossbow, it seems to be quite a random find for that area. I don’t know how serious it was but we as councillors always try to keep a close eye on that area in terms of litter and other waste that could end up there.

“It is highly concerning and very dangerous for someone to randomly leave a crossbow in a countryside area. It is definitely concerning.”

Val said the find was one of the more peculiar items she had come across , but also that she was just a “one man band”, adding that others were making a bigger difference in their areas than she was.

She said: “I’m just a little one man band - I see people collecting 20 or 30 bags full of stuff on the weekends. There are people throughout Bolton and nationally trying to look after the environment.

“If everyone else just went out for 15 minutes a week, the world would be a better place - we have got to look after the environment. People just don’t respect their surroundings and when I do see people littering, I challenge them.”