A man arrested by armed police in Skipton following reports of a firearm being brandished said he was not a gunman but a Wild West enthusiast who only owned replica guns.

Mark Bussey, 50, was arrested during a raid at his home in The Oval in the early hours of Monday, August 2.

A North Yorkshire Police armed response unit surrounded the rented house after officers received a report from an anonymous caller just before midnight on Sunday, August 1, saying a man had been seen carrying a pistol-type weapon in a front garden.

Mr Bussey said he had been about to get in the shower when police arrived and was wearing only a towel when he was ordered out of his home and told to lie down in the street.

His 22-year-old son was also arrested and three firearms were taken from the property.

They were examined by police experts and found to be replicas.

Mr Bussey, chairman of the Leeds-based OK Corral Country and Western Group, said since the incident people had been pointing at him in the street and he felt it was now time to set the record straight.

“It has made me feel as if I am a criminal,” he said.

“Everywhere I go I am getting fingers pointed and people saying ‘It is him with the guns’.

“I want to clear my name and tell people that I am not this idiot I am being made out to be.”

The former fairground worker, whose club name is Wrangler, has been chairman of the country and western group for two years.

During that time, the 40-strong group of cowboys and cowgirls has performed at festivals and events throughout the UK and raised more than £2,000 for charity.

The dad of six, who has lived at the property in Skipton with his son and 18-year-old daughter since March, said: “The reason for my guns is charity. I have got two Colt 45s and a Derringer that I keep locked in a safe.

“When I take them to events they are in a locked case. They are not capable of firing live rounds.”

He said that he only owned blank bullets and the guns had also been registered with the Armed Response Unit in Bradford as a precaution.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said their inquiries were ongoing. Mr Bussey has been bailed to return to Skipton police station on Monday, August 23. No further police action is being taken against his son.