Knife charge man's self defence claim (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Knife charge man's self defence claim

A YOUNG man carried a six-inch kitchen knife to defend himself after he was threatened outside a pub.

Adam Pritchard, 20, of Hampshire Place, Melksham, pleaded guilty to having a six-inch blade on his home street at Chippenham magistrates' court on Thursday.

Robert Reid, prosecuting, said Pritchard had been caught with the knife after he had been drinking.

David Harris, defending, said Pritchard had been outside the Bear pub in Bath Road, Melksham, using his mobile phone when two men came up to him and said they would kill him if he did not leave his girlfriend.

He went home frightened and then panicked because he was alone and set off for a friend's house, carrying the knife to defend himself.

He said in an interview with police that he had not intended to use the knife. When police spotted him he dropped it in some long grass, where they found it.

Pritchard, who is due to start work at The Bear today, was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £100 costs.