A Hexham man has been given a community order after a gun-shaped lighter sparked a police hunt in Newcastle city centre and left a woman “shocked and terrified”.
Joe Brown, 32, of Peth Head, Hexham, pleaded guilty at Newcastle Crown Court to possessing an imitation firearm in public. He was sentenced to a 12-month community order and must complete 80 hours of unpaid work.
The incident happened on March 24, when a woman was walking near the Centre For Life in Newcastle. She saw Brown partially pull an object from his pocket and heard what appeared to be a trigger clicking. Believing it was a black gun, she contacted police.
Police searched for reported gunman
The woman told the court she thought Brown might be loading a gun. Prosecutor Claire Armstrong said the encounter was brief and that Brown did not point the object at the woman, who did not believe he had seen her.
Despite that, the woman said she felt shocked and terrified. Police searched the area after receiving the report but initially could not find the man.
Officers located Brown around half an hour later on Broad Chare. The court heard that he co-operated with police and explained that the object was a lighter made to look like a gun. He later said he had bought it on Facebook and used it only as a lighter.
Judge calls decision to carry item “incredibly stupid”
Sentencing Brown, Judge Robert Spragg said there was no suggestion that he had aimed the imitation weapon at anyone or made threats. However, he described Brown’s decision to take it into public as “incredibly stupid”.
“There's no suggestion you aimed it at anyone or made threats. Obviously this was a shocking and distressing incident for the person who saw it and it's incredibly stupid for you to be carrying it in a public place.”
Defending, David Ward said Brown had pulled the lighter only part-way from his pocket before putting it straight back. He said it had not been used to light a cigarette.
“Clearly (the woman) would have been concerned and she was right to go to the police - it could have been anything and she didn't know it was a lighter.”
The court heard Brown had 62 previous convictions and had received a community order two weeks earlier for making threats to kill. It also heard that he has mental health conditions.
The case was reported by ChronicleLive’s court reporter Rob Kennedy at 00:32 on October 19, 2026.