IT'S claimed that the only difference between men and boys is the size of their toys. Certainly, it is true that males of all ages often delight in pursuing pleasures that are more usually associated with childhood.

Games that recreate war or other forms of combat are particularly favoured by certain males - perhaps in the absence of the real thing, the best substitute is to play-act everything but the inconvenient reality of bullet-riddled bodies and trunks that have been divested of their limbs. Whatever turns you on.

However, it would appear that some residents were definitely not turned on when a group of men started playing with replica guns in woodland in Worcester. They complained not only about the noise but also over the fact that nearby sheep didn't appear to take all that kindly to the racket, either. This gunfight near their corral was certainly not OK. There then followed a period of confusion over whether the "gunmen" had been given permission to use the wood. Eventually, it transpired that they hadn't, and so the people concerned have now been informed they must cease fire, as it were.

This newspaper has no problem with what people get up too, providing it's legal and doesn't interfere with the rights of others to enjoy their lives. Sadly, in this case, the latter requirement was almost certainly not met. Bang-bang games in the undergrowth are all very well, but the bottom line for the rest of us is that it's a pain in the posterior. Someone else's fantasy is another person's harsh reality.