A bizarre plan to get shot dead or sent to a psychiatric hospital saw a man arming himself with a hammer and knives in a Garda station to provoke a response from armed gardaí.

Sentencing of a man who smashed a patrol van with a lump hammer and produced knives in a Garda station, hoping he would be shot dead, was adjourned yesterday for a psychiatric report.

A man accused of smashing a patrol van with a lump hammer and pulling knives in a garda station hoping he would be shot dead claimed in court: “When I am on medication I am the nicest person you will ever meet.”