An international charity was "selling" AK47 machine guns in a Birmingham shop yesterday, as it launched a campaign for tighter controls on arms trading.
A QVC-style teleshop and dummies were set up in a Digbeth High Street store to show how easily weapons can be bought.
Amnesty International's campaign includes a two-minute spoof ad for 15 certificate films at Star City's Vue Cinema.
Several dummies were assembled in the shop window to illustrate the devastating firepower of the weapons, sold around the globe in countries where the arms trade is barely controlled.
Steve Ballinger, Amnesty's arms expert, said: "Birmingham has been touched by shootings and gang violence in a major way, but people in Birmingham probably don't realise how this wider issue can affect them.
"Although gun control regulations are pretty good in the UK, elsewhere in the world the arms trade is 'legal' but subject to few or no controls, so there is nothing to stop guns getting into the wrong hands.
"The problem is in some countries like Uganda or the Congo, guns are as cheap as cigarettes.
"Whether it be the hands of ten-year-old child soldiers, dictators who use them to oppress people, or for wars, we need to send a message to the UN when they meet to discuss this in June all governments should support the same international standards."
The two-minute ad, in which a young boy is seen firing an AK47 while watched by 'teleshop' presenters, was the brainchild of Adil Abar, from Hall Green. Presenters talk up the reliability of the machine gun, sold at a 'bargain' price of £474.
Yesterday the ad was recreated by actor Geoff Cotton.
He said: "When you pick up one of these guns they're a seductive piece of kit to hold, especially for a boy, but then you see the damage it causes to the dummies which is chilling.
"This is not a toy and when you think about this being in the arms of ten or 11-year-old 'soldiers' it turns your stomach."
* To support the campaign text the word ARMS to 84118 and sign up to Amnesty's petition for tough action.
