Train gun man gets community service

A man who pointed a gun at a steward on a train but was given a "derisory" fine by a judge who admitted having a sense of humour, escaped prison for a second time in the Appeal Court today.

The Attorney General Lord Goldsmith QC sent the case of Scott Houghton to the Appeal Court because he thought the £100 fine imposed by a Recorder was too lenient.

Lord Justice Mantell, sitting with two other senior judges, agreed that the fine was "not only unduly lenient but also derisory" and ruled that the appropriate sentence was 18 months imprisonment. Instead of jailing Houghton, however, they imposed a 200-hour community service order because he had suffered the sentencing process twice and the jails were too overcrowded.

Houghton, 20, of Templecombe, Somerset, sobbed throughout the hearing as the court was told he had pleaded guilty in April to possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, which carries a 10-year maximum sentence.

Houghton, with two friends, had got on a train from London which was approaching Sherborne but found the aisle blocked by a buffet trolley being operated by a steward, the court heard.

He started to push the trolley out of the way. Challenged by a steward, he pulled out an air gun at held it at arm's length at the steward's face.