A REDDITCH man known as "a bit of a joker" who waved a toy gun out of the window of a car near Redditch railway station ended up paying a high price in crown court.

Ionut Nitu, 22, found the gun when he went to take some recycling to Tesco in Redditch, Worcester Crown Court heard.

He kept it and as he set off for the gym with three friends at about 4.30pm on April 10 this year, he thought it would be fun to wave it out of the window of the car, Bernard Linnemann, prosecuting, told the court.

But a woman driving by, Jacqueline Bird, thought he was pointing the gun at her as she drove past and when he pulled out to travel in the same direction, she was "extremely frightened."

She could see Nitu, who followed the court proceedings through a Romanian interpreter, in her rear view mirror, pointing the gun at his head while his friends were laughing, Mr Linnemann said.

He turned off and she stopped the car and called the police, though she later realised the gun - which had a black handle and an orange barrel - was just a toy.

Nitu and his friends parked at the railway station in Bromsgrove Road and went to the gym.

When they returned to the car, police arrested them and found the toy under the driver's seat.

The other three were released without charge.

Nitu, of Orchard Street, denied having an imitation firearm in a public place with intent to cause fear.

A not guilty verdict was recorded on this charge on the day of a trial after he entered a guilty plea to simply having it in his possession.

He told police he had been waving the toy gun around thoughtlessly and agreed there were people in the street who might have found it frightening.

"He is a young man who was fooling around and being very stupid who caused at least one member of the public considerable fear," Mr Linnemann said.

A pre-sentence report read to the court said Nitu was known as "a bit of a joker" at the warehouse where he worked six days a week as a team leader and fork lift truck driver.

Julia Powell, defending, said he had been with friends and they were more "pumped up" than usual because they were on their way to the gym.

"It was a very foolish action," she said.

Judge Nicholas Cole said the laws were rightly strict on imitation firearms and the offence carried a 12 month prison sentence but he accepted that this was a joke.

Nitu was given a three month community order with an electronically tagged curfew between 7pm and 7am and ordered to pay £1,200 towards costs.