Manchester man Samuel Rowe, 35, is mulling legal action after accepting a caution from Greater Manchester Police following the incident, The Guardian reports.

Mr Rowe had a sheathed Niwaki Hori Hori gardening trowel and an Ice Bear Japanese gardener’s sickle on his belt when police swept on him.

Police officers allegedly refused to accept that they were gardening tools, despite featuring clear branding – and then quizzed him at the station on what an allotment was.

After spending several hours in custody with police allegedly unable to locate a solicitor for him, Mr Rowe admitted a charge of suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and was released after accepting a conditional caution.

However, he is now seeking to challenge both his arrest and caution out of concern for how it could impact his future employment.

“I want my caution removed, and then I’d like my gardening tools back,” he told The Guardian.

“And if I got that, I might even like an apology off them, but I know the chances of that are next to nothing.”