Police in one Belgian city are now being armed with paintball guns.

Rapid response units in Antwerp are being handed the non-lethal weapons, familiar to stag doers and wannabe warriors across the world.

Police chiefs say that the new semi-automatic firearms are designed to be used in densely-populated areas.



They can also fire pepper spray missiles.

And police bosses hope that they will help neutralise dangerous suspects without actually killing them.

So far, some four FN 303s have been ordered by the city’s fast deployment teams.

The special units, which use unmarked cars to patrol the streets, were created following the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, France, at the start of the year.

Raids on the satirical magazine and a Parisian supermarket in January left 17 people dead, not including the gunmen.

The killings sparked a worldwide show of solidarity under the banner ‘Je Suis Charlie’.

The Brussels Times reports that the weapons are “unique” to Belgium.



(stock image credited to KeystoneUSA-ZUMA/REX)