"Weapons chic" is so ingrained in youth culture that gun-obsessed teenagers are swapping trophy pictures of themselves clutching fire-arms, senior police officers have told The Independent on Sunday.

The trend has been likened to the craze for "happy slapping" where teenage thugs photograph attacks on their mobile phones. Officers have told the IoS that they are recovering a growing number of home movies, stills and phone photos of young offenders showing off their trophy weapons for the benefit of friends and family.