A Stevenage man has been jailed for 4½ years after threatening youths with an imitation firearm in Melbourn on Halloween last year.

Jamie Woods, 21, was handed the sentence after being found guilty of possession of an imitation firearm and affray, as well as separate offences related to the supply of class A and class B drugs.

The court heard how Woods and four friends approached a group of teenage boys who were sitting around a fire in Melbourn High Street at about 8pm on October 31, 2016.

Woods, of Cannix Close in Stevenage, pulled out an imitation firearm and waved it in the air – asking who had started the fire before pointing the weapon at two members of the group.

The teenagers managed to escape unharmed but later bumped into Woods and his friends again. In this second encounter, a 16-year-old boy was hit twice and knocked to the ground.

Following a four-day trial at Cambridge Crown Court, Woods was sentenced to 4½ years in jail on Thursday last week.

Detective Constable Martyn Willis said: “Jamie Woods is a dangerous man who threatened those younger than him with violence.

“I hope this sentence demonstrates that firearms offences and violence will not be tolerated in Cambridgeshire.”