Weapons charge for Derbyshire electrician seen 'fiddling with work knife' on M1

Sean Thompson, 30, was charged with having a blade in a public place after police were called to reports of a driver with a knife on the motorway on August 3.

Prosecutor Becky Allsop told Chesterfield Magistrates Court police pulled Thompson over three hours after the call and found a knife matching the description on his dashboard.

Ms Allsop said electrical engineer Thompson had been rewiring his van that morning.

Later the same day he was on his way to a job interview when he was seen fiddling with the knife on the Northamptonshire section of the M1.

She added: “During the police interview he said he was getting bored and had the knife open, tapping it on the steering wheel while driving.”

The court heard distracted Thompson unknowingly committed the crime while still serving a suspended jail term for a stalking offence in January last year.

Thompson’s solicitor Kirsty Sargent said: “He used the knife that very morning and, knowing he needed to set off for an interview, put it into his vehicle.

“He has done so not knowing he was committing an offence by having it in a public place - it’s something he has reflected upon and was perhaps foolish on his part.”

Ms Sargent added that hardworking Thompson was heavily relied on by family for childcare commitments.

A magistrate told Thompson the starting point for the offence was to activate his suspended jail term.

However he added: “We feel we can step back from activating the suspended sentence.

“The reason we feel able to do that is your personal mitigation and we’ve heard you have childcare responsibilities and you have employment.”

Thompson, of Norman Road, Ripley, admitted having a blade in a public place.

He was fined £100, handed 120 hours unpaid work and an 18-month community order with 19 thinking skills sessions and 15 rehabilitation activity days.

The defendant was also ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £95 victim surcharge.

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