POLICE are trying to trace the owner of an airgun who fired at the back window of a car in Bradford on Avon shattering the rear windscreen on Tuesday afternoon.

The green Volvo was parked in a driveway in Greenland Mills and police believe the shot came from a children's play area above the cul-de-sac on the edge of Greenland View.

The car's owner, a 60-year-old man from St Austell who was staying with his daughter at Greenland Mills, rushed out of the house to see what had happened when he heard a loud bang as the shot was fired.

Residents have complained to police in the past when children have thrown stones down the cliff from Greenland View.

In an incident in 2001 a stone smashed through a three-foot square double-glazed window narrowly missing a man sitting inside his home.

One resident said it had been around 18 months since any stones had been thrown down to Greenland Mills and that they thought the problem had gone away.

PC Gary Jones said: "There was no way it could have been a stone that did the damage in this case.

"The car was parked on the opposite side of the road to Greenland view and a stone would not have gone that far.

"It must have been a powerful air rifle to do that much damage over that distance."

Kay Simmons, Neigh-bourhood Watch co-ordinator for Greenland Mills, said: "It is dangerous when they throw stones and if this is an air gun incident then it's very worrying.

"It is a wonderful spot for the kids up there with trees and places to play but we've had problems with the trouble element in the past. Things did improve when we had CCTV cameras installed near the railway crossing and some of the trees on the cliff were cleared."

Police have conducted extensive house-to-house inquiries in Greenland Mills and Greenland View but have not traced the owner of the airgun.

Anyone with information about Tuesday's incident should contact Bradford police on (01225) 862222.