Judge warns of jail terms for knife possession

By Ben Schofield on Sep 24, 08 12:40 PM

A LIVERPOOL judge has given a stark warning that people caught carrying knives can expect to be locked up.

Judge Mark Brown made the comments as he jailed Steven Honey for eight months for having a blade as he clashed with his brother.

Judge Brown said: "There is a knife culture, a belief that the carrying of knives is the right thing to do."

He added: "The courts must do everything possible to send out a clear message that those who carry knives in public, unless the circumstances are truly exceptional, can expect to go to custody and go to custody immediately."

Judge Brown told Honey, 27, his sentence had to "reflect the considerable and understandable public concern at the carrying of knives and the amount of knife crime in our society".

Liverpool crown court heard an argument broke out after Honey went to a pub owned by his parents to confront his brother Neil about a family problem.

Alarmed drinkers at the Cricketers Arms on Peter Street, St Helens, watched as they fought.

Robert Jansen, prosecuting, told how minutes later a witness noticed a "silver thing" bounce off the wall.

Mr Jansen said: "The defendant was heard to shout: 'I've lost me blade. I'm coming back you **** and I'm going to cut your head off'."

Honey, who was on a conditional discharge for shop-lifting at the time, later admitted having an article with a blade on July 18.

Paul Becker, defending, told the court Honey, of Prescot Road, St Helens, had now resolved his problem with his brother, who had written a letter of support.

He added that the diabetes sufferer had been grieving the loss of his grandmother at the time, while his step-father had been diagnosed with cancer.

But Judge Brown said: "This is a case where you were involved in a violent confrontation with your brother, a fight in public."