Town star receives police caution
IPSWICH Town star Darren Bent will not face charges following an incident where a 12-year-old boy was shot at with a BB gun, police said.The 20-year-old Blues striker was given a formal caution when he answered bail at Woodbridge Police Station on Saturday.
By Jonathan Barnes
IPSWICH Town star Darren Bent will not face charges following an incident where a 12-year-old boy was shot at with a BB gun, police said.
The 20-year-old Blues striker was given a formal caution when he answered bail at Woodbridge Police Station on Saturday.
Bent was arrested on May 12 – just days before the club's play-off matches – after an alleged incident near his home in Kesgrave.
He was quizzed on suspicion of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause violence to the 12-year-old.
The boy claimed he had been hit in the back by a plastic pellet fired from a BB gun, though he did not need medical attention. A second boy later claimed he had been targeted at the same time.
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The incidents were both alleged to have happened in Baird Grove in the town and came to light when the mother of the first boy called the police.
A spokeswoman for Suffolk police said a 20-year-old Kesgrave man had answered bail at Woodbridge on Saturday and added: "He was given a formal caution in respect of his actions."
BB guns are gas or spring loaded soft air weapons which fire small plastic pellets at up to 100 metres and can be bought by anyone over the age of 17.
Young prospect Bent was Ipswich Town's leading goalscorer in the 2003/04 Division One campaign, netting 17 goals in 41 games.
He scored the winner in Town's 1-0 play-off win against West Ham just days after his arrest, but could not prevent the side going down 2-0 in the second leg to lose on aggregate, which ended their hopes of making next season's Premiership.
The pacy striker joined Ipswich when he was 14-years-old and made his first-team debut at just 17.
Since, he has scored 37 goals in 66 starts and 36 substitute appearances and earned caps at England under-19 and under-21 level.
He is one of the club's most valuable assets and has attracted interest from some of the country's top sides.
Neither the club or the player were prepared to comment on his police caution last night.
