Police were called after the firearm was uncovered near a tree in Highgate

A GENTLE afternoon gardening with friends turned into an episode of Crimewatch on Saturday after volunteers at a community garden project unearthed a firearm.

The green charity Growing Green were working on a communal garden in Highgate when they discovered what at first glance looked like a sawn-off shotgun buried by a tree stump.

On closer inspection, the gun was identified as an older flintlock style pistol, popular among highwaymen in the 1700s.

Forensics from the Met police came to remove the firearm and examine whether it could be a vital clue in  an unsolved crime.

The garden, in Doynton Street, had been used for many years as a rubbish dump and had become overgrown until neighbours got together to start making it usable once more.

Growing Green stepped in to help and at the weekend had enlisted the help of the Good Gym, an organisation which brings volunteers together to help with similar projects, and enjoy some fresh air and exercise while doing so.

Organiser Claudia Kretzschmar said: “We were cleaning rubbish, trimming back shrubs and trees and digging over beds. As I was clearing things away I looked down at the ground and we saw what looked like a gun. It felt real – it wasn’t light, it wasn’t made of plastic. We debated what to do – it could have been loaded for all we know, or be connected to a crime. We were all really quite shocked. We have found knives in flower beds before – but not a gun.”

Growing Green us currently running a number of projects, including making a communal garden in Holly Lodge more wildlife friendly, creating a new orchard and edible hedgerows.

They are also working with Parliament Hill School, as well as another project to create hedgehog highways.

A Met spokesperson said: “Officers attended and – following checks by a Met Police firearms specialist – the item was found to be a replica. We’d like to thank the members of the public who reported this to us. Officers followed every available line of enquiry but have not been able to locate a suspect.”