John
06-15-2009, 04:06 PM
An armed police hunt was launched after a Kent man was spotted with a fake gun on his way to a fancy dress party.
Stuart Harris, 35, was seen waving the gun around at a filling station in Minster, near Ramsgate, en route to the gangster-themed party, reports the Daily Telegraph.
He then drove 70 miles to the party in London, spent several hours there before making the trip home - only to be awoken by armed officers at 3am.
They had tracked his car through a roadside number plate recognition system and traced him back to his address in Broadstairs, Kent.
Mr Harris was arrested, held in a cell and eventually released after accepting a caution for possessing an imitation firearm in a public place.
"I definitely wasn't waving the gun in a threatening manner but I think someone thought I was holding my sister hostage," he said.
"I was arrested and taken to the police station. My sister explained what happened and that we were just messing about but it didn't do much good.
"I'm annoyed because the caution is going to stay on my record for five years. If I apply for a job or something it will show up but what really happened won't. It looks awful."
However, Chief Supt John Molloy, said: "How do our officers know someone is on the way to a gangster-themed fancy dress party?
"We take reports of firearms seriously and people should consider the obvious implications of taking imitation weapons into a public place."
Stuart Harris, 35, was seen waving the gun around at a filling station in Minster, near Ramsgate, en route to the gangster-themed party, reports the Daily Telegraph.
He then drove 70 miles to the party in London, spent several hours there before making the trip home - only to be awoken by armed officers at 3am.
They had tracked his car through a roadside number plate recognition system and traced him back to his address in Broadstairs, Kent.
Mr Harris was arrested, held in a cell and eventually released after accepting a caution for possessing an imitation firearm in a public place.
"I definitely wasn't waving the gun in a threatening manner but I think someone thought I was holding my sister hostage," he said.
"I was arrested and taken to the police station. My sister explained what happened and that we were just messing about but it didn't do much good.
"I'm annoyed because the caution is going to stay on my record for five years. If I apply for a job or something it will show up but what really happened won't. It looks awful."
However, Chief Supt John Molloy, said: "How do our officers know someone is on the way to a gangster-themed fancy dress party?
"We take reports of firearms seriously and people should consider the obvious implications of taking imitation weapons into a public place."