IPSWICH: A man who was seen pointing what appeared to be a gun out of his window claimed he had been holding a telescope and vacuum cleaner attachment, a court heard.

Dog walkers in a Norwich Road park saw Paul Devereux hanging out of an upstairs window of his Limerick Close home shouting at them to keep their dogs quiet, Ipswich Crown Court.

Devereux appeared to be holding a gun but claimed he had been vacuuming his flat at the time and had been holding an attachment, said Godfried Duah, prosecuting.

He said Devereux denied threatening to shoot the dogs and denied intending anyone to think he was holding a gun.

After shouting out of the window Devereux had gone outside with his Staffordshire bull terrier and had been angry and aggressive.

Devereux, 47, admitted using threatening behaviour and was jailed for eight weeks.

Sentencing him, Judge David Goodin said he had pleaded guilty on the basis that what looked to witnesses to be a gun was in fact a telescope next to a vacuum attachment that was tucked under his arm, and nothing to do with an air rifle with a telescopic sight that was found by police at his home.

“I am sentencing you on that basis,” said the judge.

Dino Barricella, for Devereux, said although noise from dogs was to be expected if you lived next to a park, it had become a problem in the months leading up to the offence in July.

He said Devereux had been in pain and had not been in a good frame of mind. He had been watching television but had been forced to switch it off because of the noise from dogs.

He had started vacuuming and out of frustration he had shouted out of his window at the dog walkers. “He accepts his actions were wrong,” said Mr Barricella.

He said some of his neighbours had been upset at noise from dogs in the park. “He sees himself as someone who supports the neighbourhood,” he said,

The court heard that in 2003 Devereux had been given a commendation by a judge for coming to the aid of a neighbour who was the victim of a crime.

Mr Barricella said Devereux had a tripod mounted telescope in his flat so that he could observe birds in the park.