ARMED police swooped on a Bradford busker after he was seen on CCTV pointing what appeared to be a handgun at his own head, a court heard.

It later emerged that Ian Moorhouse, 45, was posing for a 'selfie' with friends using a plastic toy gun he had found on the street.

During a hearing at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court today, Moorhouse pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation firearm in a public place and was told it was "the most silly thing you could have done."

Prosecutor Richard Davies told the court that on March 9 this year, Moorhouse was in Bradford's Centenary Square with friends at around 11.35pm when he was seen on CCTV in possession of what appeared to be a black handgun.

At one point, he was said to have posed for a picture with the gun pointed towards his right temple.

A police firearms unit was called in to deal with the incident, and Moorhouse was confronted and arrested by officers a short time later in Randall Well Street.

MORE TOP STORIES

He was said to have told police, "I found it, it's just a toy gun", adding his intention was to throw it in the bin.

Moorhouse, of Otley Road, Bradford, was said to have found the gun on his way into the city centre to busk, using it to take "silly" pictures and recordings on a phone.

In mitigation, his solicitor, Alan Petherbridge, told the court that the evening's events had "come straight out of a TV programme."

"Armed officers surrounded Mr Moorhouse as they thought he had a serious weapon," he said.

"In reality, he had picked up a broken toy plastic gun and was fooling around with it, being daft.

"It is a serious matter due to the perception other people may have had, but it was just momentary silliness".

He added that Moorhouse, who appeared in court with long dark hair and a beard, had not pointed the gun at anybody, and had told police immediately that it was only made of plastic.

Chairman of the bench, Alice Brett, said: "We are not trivialising this, and a passer-by might have been traumatised by seeing a distinctive figure such as yourself brandishing what appeared to be a firearm.

"The CCTV staff certainly thought so, which is the reason the tactical firearms team was called.

"It was the most silly thing you could have done, and that silliness needs to be punished."

Moorhouse was sentenced to an eight-week curfew from 7pm to 7am, but after telling the court he taught music and ran an open mic night on Thursdays and Saturdays, the curfew on those days was changed to start at 1am the following morning.

He was also ordered to pay £85 costs, and a £60 surcharge, and magistrates ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the toy gun.