Children in Kildare uncovered a shotgun hidden in a tree during a fund-raising Easter egg hunt.

The Easter egg hunt was organized by Brannockstown National School along with a walk for 60 school children on Sunday. Parents were shocked when they found the gun along the trail and immediately alerted the police.

The children had been searching for chocolate eggs among the trees when the gun was found. The firearm was seized by the police.

A local man, Brian Byrne, wrote in his blog "The weapon was in a black plastic bag which had been placed in the back of the tree about halfway down the Green Avenue. It was badly rusted, and the stock was very weathered but the plastic bag was quite modern."

He continued "It appeared to be a fairly old weapon, a breech-loader pitted with a considerable degree of rust. The wooden stock was also very weathered, but did have an X-patterned recoil pad on the end of the butt, suggesting it had been usable in modern times. The trigger guard had also been removed, suggesting that it might have been prepared for non-legal use."

According to the Evening Herald's reports police officer Joanne O'Sullivan, who was attending the egg hunt ensured that the group were safe and recovered the gun from the tree.

A parent taking part in the walk said she was shocked by the discovery. She said "I'd hate to think what could have happened if my child had found it. You think your children are safe going on an Easter egg hunt, it all sounds like harmless fun for a good cause…It's unbelievable that something like this could happen but it just goes to show how rampant crime is everywhere nowadays."