A TERRIFIED schoolgirl was shot at with an air rifle and wounded in the leg with a pellet - just minutes after she finished school.The 15-year-old girl, who wishes to remain anonymous, was sitting in a field behind Castle Manor Upper School in Haverhill when she was hit.

A TERRIFIED schoolgirl was shot at with an air rifle and wounded in the leg with a pellet - just minutes after she finished school.

The 15-year-old girl, who wishes to remain anonymous, was sitting in a field behind Castle Manor Upper School in Haverhill when she was hit.

Her mother said: "She was on the grass behind the school when she stood up and felt a sharp pain on her leg - she thought her friend had hit her with something.

"But then she found a bullet lying on the floor and realised she had been shot in the thigh with an airgun. She was bit shocked by it. You could see the bullet mark and she had a big bruise on her leg."

The incident which is being investigated by police happened on Thursday at about 3.20pm.

The girl's mother added: "I was very angry when she told me she had got shot at when she was on her way home from school – I thought did I hear that right?"

The pellet left a red mark and bruise on the girl's left thigh.

A police spokesman said: "Using air weapons in public places are very dangerous. Although this girl only received minor injuries, things could have been far worse, especially if the pellet had struck the girl in the face or the eye.

"Air weapons are not toys and should only be used in the appropriate surroundings."

Suffolk County Council's senior education officer Janet Wellings confirmed the school had been told about the incident.

She added: "A girl reported the incident to the school which took place as she was leaving the site. She wasn't injured but we are investigating the incident and we are certainly taking it very seriously."

No one at the Eastern Avenue school was available for comment yesterday .

Anyone with information about the incident should call Pc Michael Chapman on the same telephone number.