A man has been jailed for 12 months for pointing an imitation handgun at the paramedic treating him in an ambulance.

Yousef Camara terrified the ex-Army medic who had seen real weapons when in active service and thought the gun was real, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

He shouted to the ambulance driver ‘He’s got a gun,’ while thinking he had worked his last shift, prosecutor Camille Morland said.

Camara, 21, of Lapage Terrace, Bradford Moor, Bradford, was convicted by a jury of possessing an imitation firearm, namely a BB handgun, with intent to cause fear of violence.

He was sentenced on a video link to HMP Leeds after being remanded into custody.

Miss Morland said he had failed to attend court for his trial in March.

She stated that an ambulance was sent to Bradford city centre in the early afternoon of June 25, 2020, because Camara was lying on the ground outside the magistrates’ court having been assaulted.

He had a lump on his head and was pretending to be unconscious.

He was put on a stretcher along with a bag that was with him.

On the way to hospital, Camara opened his eyes, drew the gun from his bag and pointed it at the paramedic.

The victim pressed the alarm button, shouted to alert the ambulance driver and the vehicle was driven speedily to nearby Trafalgar House Police Station.

The paramedic had grabbed the gun from Camara on route and he ran to the reception desk with it.

Miss Morland said there was ammunition in the bag with the firearm.

In his victim personal statement, the paramedic said he had been 21 years serving the public with the Yorkshire Ambulance Service and he and his colleague had found the incident ‘harrowing.’ Abdul Shakoor said in mitigation that it was an unplanned and unsophisticated offence and Camara had no intention of hurting anyone.

He had come to the UK aged 18 to find work and had experienced racism. He had been assaulted while in prison on remand.

Judge Jonathan Rose said Camara had been cautioned three months earlier for possession of an offensive weapon in a public place so he must have been painfully aware that it was illegal.

It was accepted that he got the gun to protect himself and that he had received an unprovoked and undeserved beating before the ambulance was called.

But there was absolutely no reason to threaten the paramedic who was trying to help him.

Judge Rose ordered that the gun and ammunition be forfeited and destroyed.