A PARTYGOER dressed as a chainsaw-wielding murderer believes police had a "sense of humour failure" after the force scrambled a helicopter and armed police to tackle him.

Kevin Oakes, of Willow Drive, Bicester, donned a costume to mimic the character Leatherface from the horror movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre for a fancy dress party.

But the 20-year-old property manager thinks the police response was over the top after they slapped him on the wrist for carrying a chainsaw and wearing a blood stained T-shirt in the street.

Mr Oakes was stopped at around 5.45pm after worried residents dialled 999 because of his convincing outfit and prop.

He said: "The whole thing is a bit of a joke. It was obvious what I was doing. Anyone could see that.

"Even kids in the street said how good they thought the costume was."

Mr Oakes had popped into the Mustang pub for a drink before heading along Churchill Road, Bicesterto get to the party.

He said: "I was a bit early and thought I would drop into the pub for a drink, so I would not arrive before anyone else.

"I then got a call to tell me not to arrive until a bit later and so went home to work on my costume a bit more.

"I thought it would look good with a bit more blood on it."

Mr Oakes insisted the chain from the saw had been removed and he had only tested it out in his garden before heading to the party.

He said: "I saw the helicopter hovering quite low above me and thought they were just looking and laughing.

"But when the police stopped me they certainly weren't laughing. In fact, I think they had a bit of a sense of humour failure to be honest."

An armed response car, one marked and two unmarked police cars, as well as a riot van and the helicopter swooped, according to Mr Oakes.

The bemused party-goer was then told to put his weapon on the ground.

Police did not point a gun at Mr Oakes and he was not arrested, but still feels the response was over the top.

Officers did not see the funny side and told him to take off the mask and put the chainsaw, as well as the T-shirt, in a bag.

He added: "Surely they could not arrest me for wearing a grubby T-shirt?!"

Police spokesman Toby Shergold said the force received calls from concerned residents who had seen a man with a "running chainsaw" in the street and insisted the response was "proportionate".

He said: "The helicopter is used in such circumstances because suspicious people can be traced more quickly and we can quickly assess how dangerous a situation is before putting officers on the ground at risk.

"Once our officers made contact with the man they quickly became aware he did not pose any threat. But he was told about the reaction he had provoked in local people and we insisted he cover up his costume and turn off the chainsaw."