Man charged with possessing imitation firearm after confronting police with a windscreen SPONGE Police surrounded man after report that he was brandishing a gun Marc Carpenter, 33, was arrested after hour-long standoff in Exeter Quay After the arrest it emerged the 'gun' was a windscreen sponge Gun? Marc Carpenter, 33, threatened police with a squeezy windscreen sponge like this one (file photo) A man has been charged with possessing an imitation firearm - after threatening police with a windscreen sponge. Marc Carpenter, 33, is said to have brandished the "weapon" in a busy children's play area in Exeter and allegedly told armed officers that he had a gun in his holdall. It was later found that the fake gun was in fact a squeezy sponge for car maintenance, Exeter Crown Court heard. The unusual charge led to the judge questioning if the alleged crime had been properly labelled. The incident took place on July 10, just hours after Prince Edward had opened an nearby activity centre at Haven Banks, Exeter. A member of the public reporting that a man was brandishing a gun next to a children's playground on the quayside, and half-a-dozen armed policemen swooped in on the scene. Bare-chested Carpenter invited police to shoot him, but allowed officers to handcuff him after an hour-long standoff. Judge Francis Gilbert QC said the fake gun was 'a windscreen sponge, squeezy' and that in his opinion, Carpenter should be charged with threatening behaviour or wasting police time. Carpenter, from Exeter, was remanded in custody and will return to court in a week after the charge is reviewed by prosecutors. Questionable crime: Judge Francis Gilbert QC at Exeter Crown Court thought Carpenter should be charged with wasting police time instead of possessing imitation fire arm The stand-off took place next during one of the hottest days of the year and dozens of members of the public witnessed the incident. "There were lots of armed police and people looking on," a witness told Exeter Express and Echo at the time. Someone was on the ground and the police were pointing weapons. The armed police appeared no more than 15 yards away from a busy children's play area.'