Pepper spray taxi driver was 'doomsday prepper'
A man who collected weapons and bought canisters of pepper spray online was "preparing to survive doomsday scenarios", a court heard.
Sajjad Younis Khan, was described at Birmingham Magistrates' Court as a "weapons enthusiast and survivalist".
The 40-year-old taxi driver admitted possessing a weapon for the discharge of a noxious substance but said he had no intention of using it on others.
He also surrendered to police machetes and illegally held knives.
Khan was initially arrested under anti-terror laws and admitted to officers he was a weapons collector.
He had sprayed one of the four canisters of illegal pepper spray to test his own pain threshold, the court was told.
Prosecutor Amy Davies said Khan was a "prepper" which she defined it as "someone preparing to survive doomsday scenarios".
Mitigatin, Aftab Zaroor, said the defendant was held in custody for seven days and "made full and frank admissions" that he purchased the substance but was unaware it was illegal.
Khan, of Whitmore Road, Small Heath - who has previous convictions for robbery and wounding dating back to 1994 - was released on conditional bail and will be sentenced on 6 June.