Image copyright PA Media

A teenager accused of buying a gun online as part of a plot to carry out a massacre told police he only intended to shoot himself, a court has heard.

Kyle Davies said he was embarrassed his research into guns made it look like he intended to carry out a mass killing.

Jurors at Gloucester Crown Court heard Mr Davies told officers he "didn't want to hurt anyone else" with the Glock 17 handgun.

Mr Davies, 18, from Gloucester, denies weapons and ammunition charges.

Prosecutors have claimed internet searches and handwritten notes show he was planning an attack similar to the Columbine high school shootings.

But jurors heard when Mr Davies was arrested in June last year he described himself as "weird" and said he had an interest in "macabre things".

"I am not obsessive, like planning murders, but like just interesting things," he told detectives.

Mr Davies said a dealer had offered him 50 rounds of ammunition but he replied saying he only needed one or two bullets.

Police intercepted a package containing the weapon, and substituted it for a dummy one that was delivered by an undercover officer.

"I didn't really want to commit to opening it," Mr Davies said in a statement.

"I was not necessarily happy about it. It isn't a very happy thing, is it, obviously - intending to shoot myself with it."

He denies two counts of attempting to possess a Glock 17 pistol and five rounds of 9mm ammunition with intent to endanger life.

The trial continues.