A terrified St Albans mother has revealed how a man pointed what she thought was a gun at her in the middle of the afternoon.

Gosia Go spotted the man on Friday in Lime Tree Place - just off Grosvenor Road - wielding what she perceived to be a weapon, and swiftly called police to report him.

Herts police confirmed they were called at around 12.40pm on Friday 8 July following an incident in Lime Tree Place, St Albans in which it was reported that a member of the public had seen a man holding an object which they believed to be a firearm.

Officers attended and a man was detained a short time later. A search was carried out and the man was found to be in possession of a magazine for an air soft weapon, which is not illegal to possess. The man was given words of advice and let on his way.

A spokesperson for Herts Constabulary said: “We fully appreciate that this would have been a worrying experience and the informant did exactly the right thing by contacting police straightaway to report their concerns. The caller was debriefed by an officer, who confirmed that no offences had occurred.”

But Gosia is unhappy with the response: "This man is not normal doing this to people. He was pointing something at us which looks like a gun, why would anyone do that even for fun? I'm very upset and scared he will do it again."