Rotherham pensioner chased man down street wielding air gun witnesses believed to be 'hunting rifle'
He had previously been convicted of firearms offences in the 1980s
A pensioner who was spotted by petrol station staff carrying what they believed to be a “hunting rifle” has avoided prison.
On September 5, 2025, a woman working at a petrol station on Rotherham Road in Maltby was alarmed when she saw a man running down the street at around 8.30pm.
“She gained the impression the male was running away from something or someone,” prosecuting barrister Austin Newman told Sheffield Crown Court at a sentencing hearing on Friday (July 24).
Just a short time later she saw another man, later identified to be Charles Stanworth, walking down the same street, the court heard.
“He was carrying a firearm which (the woman) believed was a hunting rifle due to the scope on the top of it,” Mr Newman added.
“He approached [her] and asked ‘where has he just gone?’
“She immediately assumed he was talking about the male she had just seen running.”
Stanworth, aged 62, began questioning whether the man he was looking for had gone into the station’s kiosk, and the woman used the opportunity to speak to her colleague inside.
While calling the police, the second member of staff went outside to talk to Stanworth.
Mr Newman told the court how the woman would later tell police: “At no point did the defendant point the firearm at her or was aggressive with either herself or her colleague.”
However, upon the arrival of another woman the situation began to turn, it was heard in court.
Stanworth and the woman walked to the rear of the station and the pair were “heard arguing,” Mr Newman explained.
He went on to say: “During the exchange between the two of them the defendant raised the firearm and pointed it at the female as she backed away.”
By the time police arrived Stanworth had left, the court was told, however thanks to CCTV footage he was later identified and arrested.
It was said in court that police found the weapon he had been carrying in his home, which was examined by firearms experts and identified as a .22 calibre air rifle which was capable of shooting pellets.
Under the Firearms Act, the rifle does count as a firearm, Mr Newman explained, however due to its low kinetic force it is not considered dangerous.
Stanworth answered no comment under police interview and later pleaded guilty to possession of an air weapon with intent to cause fear of violence.
It was also explained to the court that Stanworth had a number of previous convictions, including possession of a firearm and ammunition charge in July 1981.
His defence counsel, Ian Mullarkey, said that Stanworth had been involved in an ongoing argument with the man he was chasing down the street - and the woman who later arrived - and was “effectively harassed and bullied in his own home.”
When passing sentence, Judge Graham Reeds KC said that whatever the disagreement between the three of them it “does not make a difference” to the circumstances of the offending.
The judge went on to say that a case of this nature would typically result in an immediate custodial sentence, however added: “Because you have not been in trouble for so long, because of your age, because of the background of the offending, I am going to draw back from a custodial sentence.”
Stanworth, of St Philips Close, Maltby, was sentenced to an 18 month community order, which includes alcohol treatment for six months and 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
“If I do see you again in the context of this case, it won’t end as well,” the judge warned as Stanworth was released from the docks.
“You won’t see me again sir,” Stanworth responded.