A man who pointed an air pistol at passers-by outside a Falmouth pub was told by a judge that he had shown the maturity of a ten-year-old - with apologies to ten-year-olds.

Russel Ansary, aged 35, from Falmouth appeared before Judge Simon Carr at Truro Crown Court for sentencing this morning (October 4) after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and possession of cannabis.

The prosecution told the court that on March 28, Ansary of Noweth Place went into Finn M'Couls in Killigrew Street with some friends.

“Inside he put an air pistol on the table and started pointing it at those around the table for a laugh and a joke,” said the prosecution.

“He then takes that gun outside and is seen on CCTV footage pointing the gun at people passing outside the pub.

“They are not of the same opinion as they’re not sure of his intentions. It eventually led to the police being called to reports of a man in Falmouth pointing a gun at people.”

He said by the time the police had arrived, Ansary had left in a taxi but was later arrested at his home where police discovered 11 grammes of cannabis and associated paraphernalia.

The gun was later found by police sniffer dogs in a bush nearby. When police tested it they found it was inoperative as it had a spent CO2 canister but when they replaced the canister it was in full working order.

The prosecution said people had been “scared” by Ansary’s conduct.

Ansary’s defence barrister said his client accepted that his actions were “utterly crass and stupid”, but that things were very different now.

Sentencing Ansary to nine months in prison suspended for two years as well as an electronically tagged evening curfew from 7pm to 7am, Judge Carr said that Ansary had shown the intelligence of a ten-year-old - and that was being unfair to ten-year-olds.

“You were a man of maturity in a pub drinking and then seen on CCTV pointing a pistol,” he said.

“Imitation guns are so realistic these days. Your friends might have known it was not a real gun but the people walking down the street wouldn’t have done, it would have terrified people. You would have been scaring people in the street with the firearm.”