There was a bit of a flap in Nerja last Friday, caused by a woman in a supermarket car park armed with an assault rifle, or so it seemed.

An alarmed shopper phoned in to say that a woman “of Eastern European appearance” was inspecting a Kalashnikov inside her parked car.

The Guardia Civil, kitted out with bulletproof vests raced to the Mercadona car park.

The suspect was located and identified as a 34-year-old Ukrainian woman with the initials Y.B. Much to their relief the AK-47 was, in reality, an imitation one of the airsoft variety.

However, the police confiscated the weapon as the woman had no purchase documents or licence. She said that it belonged to her son and that she had been taking it into to be mended.

She was charged with three offences under the Ley Orgánica 4/15 y del Reglamento de Armas, as you need a permit for these weapons: Armas Lúdico Deportivas (ALD), which is obtained from your local town hall. Even with the said permit, you just can’t transport one around as you feel like it.

(News: Nerja, Axarquia, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia)