Concern overthe use of toy guns in local armed robberies has virtually eliminated the most realistic ones from the shelves of Bermuda's toy stores.

And Police, who seized more toy guns over the past year than ever before, are warning that those who continue to sell such items could face criminal prosecution.

"Imitation firearms are illegal,'' Insp. Roseanda Jones said. "No one should be selling them.'' In 1994, a year that saw armed robberies in Bermuda more than double over 1993, Police confiscated four toy guns that may have been used in the commission of offences -- the highest number of fake pistols ever seized on the Island.

According to Insp. Jones, such toys are almost indistinguishable from real guns and therefore just as effective.

She added that their use in the commission of robberies is almost impossible to track.

Explained Insp. Jones: "They definitely use them, but it's very difficult to tell how many are being used or if there's been an increase in their use because very often they are not seized by Police and the victims can't tell a real one from a fake.

"Some of the weapons are very good imitations. I personally think they should get rid of every (toy) gun on the shelves.'' Although the Police have made no attempt to influence the stocking practices of local toy marts, many shop managers have taken it upon themselves to banish phony pistols from the aisles and shelves of their stores.

"We really don't stock anything realistic-looking anymore,'' said Ms Carol Bromby, owner and manager of Toys `N' Stuff on Reid Street. "We've been trying to stay away from it.'' Down the street, at The Annex Toys in the Phoenix Centre, toy manager Mr. Leo Flood declined to comment, but a tour of the shop by The Royal Gazette revealed no toy guns on Annex Toys shelves that could be mistaken for the real thing.

The only guns on display were pirate pistols, power squirters and miniature six-shooters that bore no resemblance to actual firearms.

Ms Bromby suggested that many toy store operators acknowledge a responsibility to keep realistic-looking toy guns out of the hands of criminals.

"People were using them for the wrong purposes,'' she said. "Over the last year, we decided that we wouldn't carry them anymore.'' Ms Bromby said the only guns she carries now are green cap guns and the like.

In 1994, a wave of gun-related crimes -- including a double shooting at the Spinning Wheel nightclub and an armed robbery at the Southampton Princess branch of the Bank of Butterfield -- forced Bermudians to take a closer look at the heightened presence of guns on the Island.

Insp. Jones said that the Police welcomed any gesture on the part of toy store operators to make the situation a little better.