A Bradford teenager who threatened a motorist with an imitation gun in a road rage incident has narrowly escaped custody with a stern warning from a judge.

A court heard yesterday that Kasim Hussain brandished a ball-bearing gun and pointed it up at the ceiling of his car.

Motorist Sam Clayton, who upset Hussain when he overtook him on the inside on the A62 near Mirfield, thought it was an automatic pistol.

Prosecutor Simon Reevell told Leeds Crown Court that Mr Clayton was tail-gated by Hussain who then overtook him during the encounter on May 17.

Hussain, of Woodlands Street, White Abbey, Bradford, then produced the gun.

"Mr Clayton, who was with his wife, saw Hussain spinning the gun in his hand and pointing it at the ceiling of his own car. He gestured for Mr Clayton to pull over.

"Mr Clayton felt that Mr Hussain may have been going to use what he thought was an automatic pistol," Mr Reevell said.

The incident ended when Hussain drove off and Mr Clayton called the police.

The court heard that two days later officers stopped Hussain's Peugeot car and found the ball-bearing gun under the driver's seat.

Hussain pleaded guilty on June 8 to possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. His plea of not guilty to dangerous driving was accepted.

Peter Moulson, Hussain's barrister, said there was ill feeling between the two drivers on that day.

The gun was a plastic imitation owned by Hussain's young nephew.

"The weapon was not there at all for this purpose. It was his young nephew's toy gun. It was used on impulse and Mr Hussain expresses remorse and regret for that," Mr Moulson said.

The court heard that Hussain's probation officer said the offence came about because of poor thinking skills and there was a low risk of re-offending.

Mr Moulson said Hussain was terrified by his court appearance which arose from a momentary lapse of judgement.

The judge, Recorder Simon Jackson QC, said it was a serious offence. Hussain had used the imitation gun to cause fear of violence to a member of the public, another driver.

"A culture of knives and guns is one that needs to be eradicated," the judge said.

He added that in some cases young people carrying imitation weapons could lead to them switching to real ones.

The judge told Hussain: "I think you had some familiarity and knowledge of this item in the car. You toyed with it and indulged in behaviour that was threatening and menacing."

He warned Hussain that he had been on the brink of custody.

"Fooling around with guns is no way for anyone to go on, whether they are real or imitation," said the judge.

Hussain was sentenced to a community order for 12 months. It includes a 12 months' supervision order and 130 hours of unpaid work.

e-mail: jenny.loweth @bradford.newsquest.co.uk