A BRIERLEY Hill fork lift truck driver caught on CCTV threatening a man with a gun during an incident outside Vagabonds nightspot in the High Street has been locked up for five years.

Judge Dean Kershaw said the only reason Daniel Pitt had the pistol was because he thought it made him "look bigger" and he added: "It was not to protect you because it was unloaded but it must have been to give you some sort of kudos on the street."

The judge, at Wolverhampton Crown Court, said the CCTV was troubling because if someone else on the scene had been armed with a loaded gun then 28-year-old Daniel Pitt could have been dead.

"You must have been beefing yourself up to be a big man," he told Pitt. "You wanted to frighten someone into thinking it was loaded. That is the only possible reality."

Pitt, he added, had already built up what was a serious criminal record for offences involving violence, possessing a blade, violent disorder and possessing cannabis.

It was also an aggravating feature of the case, he said, that Pitt had been put behind bars for four years in 2014 for possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and assault with intent to rob.

Mark Phillips, prosecuting, said Pitt was wearing a hoodie when he was picked up by the CCTV cameras and he was seen to take the pistol from his pocket or belt before threatening another man.

He left the scene and the gun was thrown into bushes but it was later recovered by investigating police officers. Experts then discovered it was not loaded.

It was no more powerful than any other air weapon but was still capable of causing serious injury if fired at close range, added Mr Phillips.

Pitt, of North View Drive, admitted possessing a prohibited weapon and having the gun when prohibited - having served a four-year jail term.

The judge ruled he would impose the maximum five year sentence for having the gun and there would be no other punishment on the second charge because Pitt appeared to finally be putting his life in order

There was a "light at the end of the tunnel," he maintained but he warned Pitt it was vital he stayed out of further trouble with police on his release from custody.

Chloe Ashley, defending, told the court Pitt was addressing his drug problems and there were positive signs he was determined to mend his ways.