Don Wilson, a Republican member of the Colorado House of Representatives, apparently placed the 9mm Glock handgun on a shelf and forgot about it, NBC News reports.

It was left there for around 20 minutes before it was discovered by a janitor and confiscated.

About an hour later, Mr Wilson reported the gun missing to police and was reunited with it.

Colorado State Police said no laws had been broken and no charges would be brought against the politician.

Democratic House Speaker Julie McCluskie gave him a telling-off for creating “a dangerous situation”.