A man who got into a dispute with his neighbour was so drunk he accidentally hit himself with an extendable baton.
Damon Kirk, 55, had been drinking while sitting with his dogs in the communal garden of The Mills in Quorn, Loughborough.
Kirk was cleaning his pellet-firing Airsoft pistol when a neighbour approached him and told Kirk he was too drunk to take care of his dog and tried to take the dog away.
The 55-year-old then shouted: "Give me the dog or I'll kill the lot of you."
The Mills in Quorn, Loughborough
Google Maps
The neighbour then took Kirk's gun away, and Kirk went into his home to fetch the extendable police baton and swung it at the man.
However, he was so drunk he accidentally hit himself with the baton, LeicestershireLive has claimed.
Kirk pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation firearm in public and possessing an offensive weapon appearing at Leicester Magistrate's Court.
Airsoft guns are legal to possess, but it is an offence to take them out in public without a lawful reason. With the exception of those owned by police forces, extendable batons are illegal to own wherever they are.
LATEST NEIGHBOUR ROWS:
Leicester Magistrate's Court
PA
Prosecutor Vishal Patel told the court: "He fetched the police-style baton and used it, hitting himself and narrowly missing [the neighbour]."
He added the incident, in May last year, was the first offence Kirk had committed since his last conviction in January 2008.
Michelle Harding, representing Kirk, said the incident had happened a while ago, and there had been no further problems between Kirk and his neighbours since.
She said: "He accepts he made an error of judgement and took the gun outside...He said he was cleaning the gun to sell on. He was drinking and that's obviously an aggravating factor."
Harding said Kirk was currently having scans for suspected tumours in his brain and was on medication.
She added: "Perhaps his judgement was clouded by the fact he had those undiagnosed tumours, he was in drink and was on other medication."
Harding asked the magistrates to follow the recommendations made in a pre-sentence report and give her client a community order for the offences, rather than a custodial sentence.
Kirk was given a 12-month community order, with 20 days working with the Probation Service to address his alcohol issues. He was also fined £120 and ordered to pay a £114 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.
You may like
