A drunk Ipswich man who fired shots from the balcony of his flat at Ipswich Marina after moaning about noise from a neighbouring flat has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Police arrested Nicholas Uthwatt-Bouverie at his flat in Coprolite Street after receiving an anonymous 999 call at around 9.45pm saying he had fired three shots into the air, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

The caller, who refused to give his name because he said he was fearful of repercussions, claimed that Uthwatt-Bouverie had come out onto his balcony and “rudely” asked him to keep the noise down.

Shortly afterwards he had fired a shot into the air from his balcony followed by two further shots.

Matthew Morgan, prosecuting, said the neighbour, who lived with his partner and child, had been afraid and had gone inside.

When police knocked at the defendant’s door he had made admissions and directed them to a blank firing pistol in a drawer.

He said he had been drinking most of the day and had been eight out of ten drunk after visiting Woodbridge Rugby Club and going out in Woodbridge.

Sentencing the 50-year-old, Judge Emma Peters said that discharging the gun had been “an extremely stupid thing to do”.

“This sort of behaviour can cause fear to people,” she added.

She said Uthwatt- Bouverie, who has two previous convictions for drink driving, had been drunk when he discharged the gun.

She said he was an alcoholic but had been going to Alcoholics Anonymous and had been sober for a month.

Uthwatt-Bouverie admitted possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence on October 16 last year.

He was given a 14-month prison sentence suspended for two years and a 40-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

He was also given a 120-day alcohol abstinence and monitoring requirement and ordered to pay £1,200 prosecution costs.

Matthew Gowen, for Uthwatt-Bouverie, said his client had been under a lot of stress at the time of the offence.

He said the defendant and his brother had been in the process of selling the family farm and he had been living in Ipswich in an environment he wasn’t used to and was drinking more than usual.