A man whose antics led to armed police being deployed at Mirfield railway station after a terrified taxi driver mistakenly thought he had seen him holding a gun has appeared in court.
In fact it turned out to be a blue baseball bat.
Kirklees magistrates heard Aiden Duffy, 28, was outraged after he handed over £50 for six small bags of cannabis only to find that his supplier had left him with nothing.
Alex Bozman, prosecuting, said the incident occurred just after 6pm on April 13.
He said the taxi driver had phoned police after delivering two passengers to the station and finding the defendant reversing his Vauxhall Astra to block him in.
READ MORE:
Mr Bozman said: “He got out brandishing a weapon.
“The taxi driver mistakenly thought it was a gun. A firearms support unit was deployed to the area.
“In due course they found the vehicle in Newgate, Mirfield.”
Duffy of Bracken Hall Road, Sheepridge , was convicted last month of possessing an offensive weapon in a public area and possessing cannabis.
Sonia Kidd, in mitigation, said: “It’s fair to say that when interviewed he was not absolutely honest with the police. He thought he might end up in more trouble.”
READ MORE:
She added that he maintained that he kept the bat in his car for playing with his son though a police officer said he couldn’t find a ball.
She said: “He accepts that he was not thinking. He thought he had been ‘done over’.”
Deputy District Judge Maggie McCormack imposed a supervision order for 12 months with 200 hours unpaid work and said costs of £170 would be deducted from his Job Seekers Allowance.
She ordered that the cannabis be destroyed and the bat forfeited.
