A jilted young father who armed himself with an air pistol to scare a love rival has been spared jail.

Mark Irwin took the replica handgun from a box in his wardrobe when he discovered Paige McSharry had left him and was having an affair with an ex-boyfriend, Jamie Hills.

Angry, upset and intoxicated, he asked his unsuspecting father to drive him to see Miss McSharry at her mother's home.

Irwin, 23, of Station Road, Strood, took the unloaded Gamo R-77 with him, and later readily confessed to police that if he had seen Mr Hills en route he intended to frighten him.

However, their paths that evening in March did not cross and Irwin later returned home and replaced the CO2-powered gun, which is not a prohibited weapon, in its box.

But, unbeknown to Irwin, a woman had telephoned police after she saw him getting into a car, taking what appeared to be a handgun from his waistband and placing it between his legs.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that but for her "eagle eyes", and Irwin's own "full and frank" confession, there would be no evidence of a crime.

The gun, designed to resemble a revolver but described by an expert as "not especially dangerous" never left the car, was not brandished and did not cause injury or damage.

Irwin admitted possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and at his sentencing hearing on Monday Judge Philip Statman said he was faced with a “highly unusual” case and the “ultimate dilemma” between imposing immediate custody or a suspended sentence.

Opting for the latter, he said: “The gravamen of the case that you face is founded on that which you freely told the police, specifically in relation to what your intention had been.

“You are highly intelligent with 12 GCSE passes.

"Because of that intelligence no doubt you appreciated that the sensible thing to do was to co-operate with the police and come before the court and plead guilty at the first available opportunity.”

Judge Statman also referred to numerous character references, including one from a serving police officer, in which Irwin was described as a loving father and good man.

Irwin received a suspended a jail term of eight months for two years, with a condition that Irwin undertakes 200 hours unpaid work.

The court heard that Irwin has since reunited with Miss McSharry, with whom he has an 11-month-old daughter.

His father, Robert, sat in the public gallery and at one stage could be heard crying as the judge was told Irwin, who is an only child, had struggled to cope with his mother’s “extremely unusual and tragic” death last year.

Prosecutor Craig Evans said police were alerted at about 10.15pm on March 16. The woman, who was in her bedroom, noted down the car registration and the vehicle was traced to Irwin’s father.

Having spoken to Mr Irwin, officers then went to his son’s home where the eight-shot air pistol was found in a box in a bedroom wardrobe and Irwin was arrested.

Declining any legal representation during his police interview, Irwin told how, after an evening watching football and drinking beer with a friend, he returned home to find out Miss McSharry was at her mum’s home and would not be coming back.

“He had also found out she had been having an affair with an ex-boyfriend,” added Mr Evans. “He was angry and upset.”

Irwin, who was cautioned in 2009 for assault and affray, and reprimanded for assault at the age of 16, then took the gun and asked his dad to drive him to see his girlfriend.

“He said (to police) that if he saw Jamie Hills he would have asked his dad to stop and wait in the car while he would have got out with the intention of scaring Jamie Hills,” added the prosecutor.

“The only evidence of intention, of what was to happen, came from him.”

Tom Dunn, defending, said that while Irwin’s alcohol consumption could be seen as an aggravating factor, he had drunk far more than usual and became disinhibited by the amount and the “perceived betrayal” by his girlfriend.

He added that it was of “considerable significance” that the pistol was not brandished in public and that his frank account to police said a great deal about his understanding of the trouble he faced.

“This was entirely out of character and will never be repeated,” said Mr Dunn. “Sending him to prison for a short period of time would achieve nothing.”