He was initially treated at Ninewells Hospital before being transferred to Yorkhill Children’s Hospital in Glasgow where he is undergoing surgery to have the pellet removed from his chest cavity.

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government was launching the second phase of an awareness campaign on the dangers of the weapons.

The campaign, which uses MSN adverts, Internet pop-ups, posters and leaflets, is restarting for the summer, as police believe this is when airgun incidents are most likely to occur.

Figures revealed the first phase of the campaign saw over 130,000 plays of the Internet viral and almost 15,000 visits to the campaign web site.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill warned that airguns are “not toys” and can be extremely dangerous weapons.

“Airguns are not toys, but weapons that can kill and maim. There have been tragedies that have caused pain and injury to children and animals. That’s why we believe that action must be taken.

“We have been working closely with police forces, and they’ve told us that that long summer days, light evenings and school holidays mean that incidents peak in the summer months.

He added, “We’ve had a real success with the online ads, so we’ve developed two new ones. We’re pleased with results so far and this next phase will build on that progress.”