A man threatened to shoot a pub goer and blow the building up before his drug-fuelled rampage took him to a kebab shop.
Jack Higson had binged cocaine and alcohol after falling out with his girlfriend before he launched a short-lived reign of terror, in Bury, Greater Manchester, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
The 28-year-old threatened to shoot a man at the New Grove pub in Whitefield after getting embroiled in a bitter ‘who’s the strongest row’.
He then continued his rampage, on August 28 last year, to a nearby takeaway shop, where he was about to order a large doner kebab, but instead oulled out a toy gun and threatened staff demanding they give him the "f****** money".
The dad was eventually caught by police and recently jailed for over three years.
The Manchester Evening News reported that Lisa Boocock, prosecuting said: "On the evening of August 28 last year the defendant attended the New Grove pub in Whitefield in Bury with some friends. It is fair to say that by the time of the incident, he had consumed a large amount of alcohol and had also admitted to consuming a quantity of cocaine.
"He had got into an argument with another man in the pub regarding the defendant’s strength. This argument escalated and the defendant was visibly annoyed and began gesticulating wildly."
Flying into a rage, he then threatened to blow the pub up with a gas cylinder he grabbed from by the bar, before he was eventually talked down by a friend but not before he tried to punch the man he had argued with - "but fortunately missed in his intoxicated state", the court heard.
The prosecution added: "Whilst the defendant did not actually reveal the imitation firearm whilst inside the pub, he kept reaching for his waistband, where it was concealed, and even threatened to shoot the same man he was arguing with."
After he eventually left, Higson threw a pub chair in a “fit of rage” and headed to Bits ‘n’ Pizza takeaway, where he was a known regular and the court heard he was recognised upon his entry.
But when there Higson pulled a toy gun from his waistband and pointed it at another customer in the shop and told them “give me the f***** money, give me the till”.
He pushed the gun into the person’s nose before they told him they didn't work there, so had no money, so Higson went behind the counter and threatened staff.
But after being told they didn’t have keys to the tills, he pulled a monitor off the counter and stormed off, and staff rang the police.
The customer was left terrified after the incident, saying they were sure the gun was real and suffered anxiety attacks for weeks after the incident.
The dad-of-one from Whitefield was later arrested and admitted affray, possession of an imitation firearm and attempted robbery. He was jailed for three years and two months at court on Wednesday, March 15.
Defending Higson, Adam White said: "This all started after the defendant got into an argument with his partner when she said she wasn’t coming back to the house with him. He then decided to go out drinking and taking cocaine with friends.
"It’s clear that he was not thinking at all about what he was doing when he took the imitation firearm from the back of his car. This was not a premeditated action and was not a sophisticated one by any means.
"His partner and five-year-old daughter are rightly concerned about what will happen as a result of his custodial sentence."
Sentencing Higson, Judge Bernadette Baxter told him: "You refused to be placated after the argument and threatened to shoot someone inside your local pub. One would have expected you to have blown off steam and gone home after this but sadly things escalated.
"You have expressed no empathy at all towards the victim in the takeaway, thinking that they would just shrug it off and get on with it. Instead, the victim acted as normal people would have acted and was shocked at your actions."
