Police officers responded following reports of a man seen with a gun in Swindon, Wiltshire. Officers recovered a replica gun and arrested the man on suspicion of possession of an imitation firearm.

Nathan Griffin, aged 34, has been jailed for 21 months after admitting stalking involving fear of violence, grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of an imitation firearm. Following a brief relationship with a woman, Griffin verbally abused her and sent her “nasty” messages. The woman later witnessed Griffin attack her new partner at his place of work at a pub in Welshpool, Powys, hitting him over the head with what looked like a handgun. The woman hit Griffin with a baseball bat from behind the bar, feeling a puff of air pass her face when the gun accidentally went off during the ensuing struggle. The firearm was later confirmed to be a gas-powered airsoft gun. The court heard that the woman and her new partner both believed he was going to be killed during the attack. Griffin, who has issues with substance abuse and behaviour around intimate relationships, was also handed a five-year restraining order.

Following a National Crime Agency investigation into the conversion of blank-firing weapons, ten Ekol top-venting blank-firing pistols, a silencer and a quantity of ammunition were seized from an industrial premises in Kendal, Cumbria. A man has since been charged with conspiracy to possess a prohibited firearm and possession of ammunition, while a second man has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply firearms.

After police officers searched a home in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, two men were arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and possession of drugs. Click on media link to read full report.

Romans Vodcics, aged 31, has been jailed for fourteen months after pleading guilty to possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, failing to provide a breath test and criminal damage. In September 2023, after he was asked to leave a hotel in Corby, Northamptonshire for abusing members of staff, Vodcics walked through the bar area with an imitation firearm that looked like a Glock pistol. He also pointed the weapon at the hotel from his car. Armed police officers arrested him shortly afterwards.

Gurvinder Dari, aged 30, has been sentenced to five years in prison (to be served after an existing sentence) for possession of a firearm and ammunition. In December 2021, police officers raided a property in Tipton, West Midlands and found a 9mm pistol under a bed. A quantity of cannabis and five rounds of ammunition were also recovered. It was later determined that Dari had given the gun to the person living at the property and that he had been running a large-scale drug dealing operation from his own address.

Following an attempted burglary in Canterbury, Kent, police officers recovered an imitation gun, a knife and some bolt cutters. Five men were detained, one of whom was arrested on suspicion of possession of an imitated firearm, possession of a bladed article and going equipped to steal.

A man allegedly threatened a shop owner with a gun after stealing a crate of beer from a store in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. The suspect was apprehended nearby and arrested on suspicion of robbery. Police believe the weapon used was an imitation firearm.

Mark Billingy, aged 47, has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years, with an extended three years on licence, after being convicted of possession of an imitation firearm, robbery, possession of an offensive weapon, theft and affray. Between May and August 2023, Billingy carried out a “crime spree” in Herne Bay, Kent that included threatening a shop keeper, kicking a man’s car and waving a knife at him, and threatening a group of men with a BB gun and a knife after racially abusing them.

Following an investigation into reports of a firearm discharge in Clacton, Essex, a man was charged with possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. There were no reports of any injuries.