AN eight-year-old girl was shot in the chest by her brother, police have said.

The incident, which involved an air rifle being fired by the girl’s ten-year-old brother, left the girl needing treatment after a pellet lodged in her chest.

It was one of two unrelated shootings involving air weapons in Chorley on Saturday.

The second involved a man being shot in the chest ‘from range’ while mowing his lawn.

Police said they were called to a flat in Market Street after the girl was fired at from close range and are treating the incident an ‘accident’.

She went to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital for assessment and police said X-ray and CT scans revealed a small pellet was lodged in the child’s chest cavity, close to her lungs.

A decision was made by doctors not to operate to remove the pellet at this stage.

The children’s father, to whom the rifle belonged, has voluntarily surrendered it to police for destruction.

Sgt Andy Bramhall, from Chorley’s neighbourhood police team said the incident was being treated as a ‘particularly unfortunate accident’ and that there was no criminal investigation ongoing.

He said: “This incident, involving very young children, highlights the need for these types of pistols and rifles to be secure at all times, ideally in a locked cabinet.

“Parents must be vigilant and to take similar pre-cautions with bladed items.”

The other incident, also on Saturday at around 2.30pm, saw a man hit by an air gun pellet while mowing his lawn in Charnock Brow.

Police said he felt a sudden sharp pain and later found a hole in his shirt and blood on his chest.

Officers were sent to the area but nobody was arrested.