Man sentenced for plane gun claim

Gulbinavivius has been banned from Flyglobespan flights for life

A man who claimed he had a gun on a plane as a "joke" has been sentenced to 80 hours' community service.

Vytauas Gulbinavicius told a cabin crew member he had a gun on a flight from Edinburgh to Sharm el Sheik in Egypt.

The Flyglobespan Boeing 737 flight, carrying 130 passengers, was six hours late as a result.

The 25-year-old, of Sinclair Road, Aberdeen, was sentenced at Edinburgh Sheriff Court after earlier admitting a breach of the peace.

The court heard the cabin crew were carrying out final checks before take-off on 30 April when a stewardess noticed a strap around Gulbinavicius's left leg.

Thinking it was a piece of hand luggage she asked him to place it under his seat. He replied that it was a gun.

'Ill-advised'

Gulbinavicius, originally from Lithuania, said it was a joke but the stewardess told the captain, who contacted the police and took the plane back to the terminal.

Elspeth McDougall, defending, said her client's conduct had been "ill-advised and idiotic".

She said Gulbinavicius had been drinking and was in "good spirits".

Ms McDougall said she believed neither the crew nor passengers, which included members of his family and friends, had taken him seriously.

She said: "He has already paid a very heavy price.

"While his family and friends were enjoying their first night on holiday, he spent the night in St Leonards' police cells, lost the money he paid for his holiday and was banned from Globespan flights for life."