A man who confronted a group of teenagers with an air gun in North Yorkshire has been sentenced.

On the evening of Saturday, July 30, 2022, North Yorkshire Police received a call from a teenager who said she and a group of friends had been approached by a man with a gun in a remote location near Filey Brigg, north of Filey.

After the call armed police swooped on the area and officers approached a motorhome and asked a man inside to come out.

The man, James Edge, 41, was arrested. Officers searched the motorhome and found an Airsoft BB gun and an air pistol inside.

Edge, of Swadlincote, Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence at York Crown Court on Tuesday, November 14.

Yesterday (Wednesday, December 13) he was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, as well as 80 hours of unpaid work and a £187 victim surcharge. The two guns were ordered to be forfeited.

Investigator Doug Stanway, of North Yorkshire Police, said, despite the weapon being tucked in his waistband at the time, by displaying it Edge caused “considerable fear and panic among a group of young people”.

“The weapons we recovered would pass as real firearms in the dark and the heat of the moment,” he said.

“Thankfully, the incident was resolved peacefully, but it is important to understand that Edge’s behaviour was unacceptable, and necessitated a robust and proportionate police response.”