Horror film fancy dress fan arrested in fake knives scare

West Yorkshire Police issued a warning about the “distress” caused by carrying “toy weapons” in public after tracking down Shaun Mckeon, 26, at The Angel Inn pub in Leeds city centre on Friday, June 13.

Mr Mckeon, from Armley, was attending a Friday the 13th-themed fancy dress party and decided to go as Jason, the hockey mask-wearing main character from the series of horror movies that first aired in 1980.

Armed response officers were dispatched after police received reports that “a masked man was walking around Leeds city centre carrying what appeared to be knives” at 5.25pm.

Mr Mckeon said he and his friends are “are all quite big horror fans”. He said: “I was at The Angel Inn drinking for a good half an hour before the police turned up in force with guns and dogs.

“Though I was still in costume they managed to walk right past me twice before I gathered that they were there because of the fake weapons I had brought, so I handed my bag to the off-duty officer to be checked.”

Superintendent Sam Millar of Leeds District Police said residents had quite rightly alerted police.

He said Mr Mckeon was given “suitable advice”.