A young driver aged 23 brandished what turned out to be a copy BB pistol during a roadside disagreement in Nottingham’s town centre, alarming a BT employee who thought the object was authentic. The confrontation happened at the junction of London Road and Station Street.

As the two cars moved alongside each other, the accused, Kiejun Brandy, rolled down his window and quizzed the victim about continuing their conversation while aiming the item at him. The BT staff member took this as a serious threat.

The man, who is awaiting the arrival of his child with his partner in June and works in the care sector, will probably not be present for his child’s birth after receiving an 18-month jail term.

When delivering the sentence, Judge Nirmal Shant observed that the item was shown in a public setting, causing the victim to think he was about to be shot. Such actions are entirely unacceptable. The victim believed it was an actual firearm, and the accused did not merely display it – he made comments that caused the victim to genuinely think it was about to be fired at him.

Prosecutor Abigail Hill said the events unfolded at around 7am on April 15 the previous year. She detailed that the BT engineer was heading towards the city centre in the outer lane of London Road while the accused travelled in the inner lane. A cyclist was using the inner lane, and the accused shifted outward to overtake the cyclist, almost striking the van driven by the engineer.

Mrs Hill explained that an argument developed between them. The accused lowered his window and proposed the victim pull over, to which the victim responded by telling him not to act stupidly. When both vehicles halted next to each other at the Station Street junction, the victim instructed the accused to depart. The accused responded by producing the weapon, directing it at the victim and asking whether he wished to keep talking. The victim immediately put his hands up in surrender and offered an apology, and the accused positioned his finger on the weapon in a way that suggested he was about to discharge it.

The accused later drove away, and the engineer rang police with the car’s registration information. An armed response unit went to the accused’s home in Bilborough, where they found an unloaded BB gun with no projectiles. Examination of a seized mobile phone displayed a photograph of the accused holding a weapon closely resembling the one used in the incident.

The engineer recounted freezing when he saw the gun directed at him and later experienced anxiety about performing his duties solo, needing someone to accompany him for a time.

Brandy, from Oakmead Avenue, pleaded guilty to possessing an imitation firearm with the aim of causing alarm or risk. He has no previous convictions.

Defence lawyer Chris Brewin said his client recognises how horrifying his behaviour would have been for the victim. He clarified that the defendant is 23, works at a residential care establishment, and his partner is expecting a baby due in June. He plans to move to the Stevenage region to reside with her relatives and secure work there. He asked for mercy – this was senseless attention-seeking.