A three-year-old boy picked up a loaded handgun that had been dumped in the garden of his Black Country home and gave it to his 11-year-old brother who fired it at a parked car.

Neither of the boys were hurt after the shock incident in Oakfield Close, Smethwick, but their mother said today it was a miracle that no-one was hurt. The boy saw the gun on the ground in the front garden of his home on Saturday morning. He called out to his 11-year-old brother who picked it up and fired it through the window of a car.

“He thought it was a toy and held it out in front of him and pulled the trigger,” said his mother, who is too terrified to be named.

“He’d fired it once and it jammed and then he fired it again and it went though the car. The force of it made his arm fly right back over his head,” she said.

She added: “I think I’m the luckiest mother in the world, children play out there and it could have killed them. It’s frightening.

“We were in the police station all morning and he was being filmed while they interviewed him, that’s when it hit me what could have happened and I just started praying.”

Police were called to the scene at 9.30am and cordoned off the area while they carried out their inquiries.

“No one knew what to do with the gun when it happened,” she added.

“My son took it to his friend who asked his dad. They were going to put it in a bin but it was full so they went and got someone else who called the police. 

“We just didn’t know what to do with it. I don’t know how it got in my garden, it’s not a very safe area. I feel very worried now.”

Police confirmed they had been called to the house in Oakfield Close on Saturday.

Spokeswoman Zoe Coward said: “We responded to reports that an 11-year-old boy found a firearm in the garden at an address in Oakfield Close. The boy thought the firearm was a toy and it was discharged but no-one was injured. 

“We realise the impact incidences like this have on the community. Police would like to reassure people it takes a robust approach to tackling crime,” she added.