Armed police swooped on a train station – only to find a man who claimed to be carrying a gun had a garden hose nozzle in his hand.
Officers rushed to the scene in Carfin, Lanarkshire, after James Stevenson told Scotrail workers he had a 9mm pistol.
A court heard on Friday Stevenson had threatened to shoot himself in the incident last December.
Officers then discovered the “weapon” he’d been holding was a garden device.
The 32-year-old admitted at Hamilton Sheriff Court to committing a breach of the peace.
Prosecutor Chloe O’Hara said maintenance workers saw Stevenson on the platform at about midnight. He said he’d found a gun and they contacted British Transport Police.
She added: “Shortly after this, he walked out of the station and shouted, ‘I want to surrender’.
“Then officers from the firearms unit arrived. They instructed Stevenson to lie on the ground. He did so and was handcuffed.
“A garden hose nozzle was located next to him.”
Sheriff John Speir remanded Stevenson in custody for reports.
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