Guns - both real and imitation - figured over the past few days in two separate incidents.

A man - who pointed an imitation firearm at five police officers - has been told he was lucky not to have been shot.

Appearing at a special sitting of Londonderry magistrates court on Monday, Thomas David Henderson, 32, from Summer Meadow Views in the Waterside, was charged with possession of an imitation firearm and using it to resist arrest on 3 May.

He could very easily have been shot dead given the way he was brandishing the weapon.

Mr Henderson was remanded in custody until 29 May for a full medical investigation.

Meanwhile, a row over a drinks bill and a fruit machine led to a shooting in a north Belfast pub at the weekend, a different court has heard.

David James Smith from Graymount Drive in Newtownabbey has been charged with attempted murder in connection with the incident at Gray's Lane.

The 47-year-old was also charged with possessing and carrying a firearm.

On the day of the shooting he drunk 15 pints of beer at the pub where he was a regular customer, the court heard.

When a row developed over an unpaid tab and the fruit machine, the defendant left and later returned firing four shots into a wall, the court heard.

A defence solicitor said the accused had cooperated fully with police when arrested and questioned.

However, bail was refused by the magistrate who said he was concerned at the ease with which a gun had been obtained.

(BMcC/NS)