Man had machete strapped to back
A jobless Willenhall man was found lying in the street with a 14in machete strapped to his back, a court heard.
A jobless Willenhall man was found lying in the street with a 14in machete strapped to his back, a court heard.
Derek Steventon, aged 46, claimed he was "out for a Sunday stroll" when police found him stretched out on a grassy bank in Broad Lane North, Wednesfield, with the blade under his jacket strapped to his back by a cord.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard yesterday how Steventon, of Essington Road, New Invention, was found lying on the bank at 3.30pm on June 1 appearing to be drunk.
Edward Soulsby, prosecuting, said: "Two girls found him lying in the grass next to a pub and called an ambulance because they believed he was in trouble.
"Police were also called to the scene but when they arrived, he started to become very aggressive.
"He demanded to be helped to his feet and said he had hit his head on a metal bar.
"The officers noticed he was extremely drunk, and as he got to his feet they felt a 14in machete strapped to his back.
"It was inside his clothing, strapped to his back with a leather cord and as he realised they had felt it he made off and threw the machete into some bushes down the road. In the end, the police had to locate the knife using sniffer dogs.
"During a police interview, he said he had left the house that day wearing the machete on his back to see how heavy it was. He also said he was out for a Sunday stroll and could not give any other reasons for having the knife.
"He just said 'I don't know' and that was it."
Steventon, who entered court using a walking stick and only has the use of one hand, pleaded guilty to having an offensive weapon at the previous hearing.
The court was told that he lost a walking stick in the lead up to the events of that day.
He claimed he had the machete because he wanted to create a new one using wood from a nearby tree.
Jas Mann, in mitigation, said: "His explanation to me was that he wanted to use the knife to chop himself a new walking stick from a tree.
"He said he had been involved in a road traffic accident some time ago and that during the accident, he lost his walking stick and wanted to make a new one."
District Judge Sybil Thomas ordered Steventon to complete a 12-month supervision order as punishment. That means he must regularly report to the probation service until October next year.
