Warsop cyclist terrified dad and young sons with replica shotgun

Brian Clark was carrying the double-barrelled weapon across his handlebars as the man took his children to nursery on the Maun Valley Trail in Mansfield Woodhouse on October 30, 2019.

Clark, 61, pointed the shotgun in their direction as he rode past and the man rang his partner and police, prosecutor Hal Ewing said.

Less than half an hour later, Clark was spotted by a female motorist looking ‘spaced-out’ as he lost control of his bike, with ‘the rifle flapping about’.

Two off-duty police officers saw him bring the gun up as if to aim it and they raised the alarm and followed him in their car.

They noted that there were a number of children around as it was school holidays.

CCTV cameras recorded him as he stopped at a bus stop for a cigarette, the court heard. A shopkeeper saw him and warned a customer not to leave the shop.

When he was arrested, Clark said he had been on his way to sell the gun but ‘thought people might get the wrong idea, so hid it in some bushes’.

Another, ‘less convincing’ replica gun was found at his home, Mr Ewing said.

In a statement, the first man said: "I feel lucky to be alive. I didn't know what his intentions were. He had no reason to do this."

Clark received a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for one year, in July 2019 for possession of a blade and stealing a bike.

Ben Robinson, mitigating, said there were still 84 hours of unpaid work left from that court order.

Clark, of The Burns, pleaded guilty to affray, when he appeared at Nottingham Magistrates Court, on Friday, April 9.

Judge John Sampson sentenced him to 12 months, suspended for 18 months, with 15 rehabilitation days, and fined him £100.

“What you did terrified members of the public,” he told Clark. “The reality is the public were not in danger, but they were not to know that.”

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