Teenagers felt threatened by man with screwdriver (From Swindon Advertiser)

Teenagers felt threatened by man with screwdriver

9:10am Wednesday 15th February 2012 in News

A MAN who was holding a screwdriver when he demanded three 15-year-old lads hand over a football has avoided a jail sentence.

Although John Cooper, 20, was ‘armed’ with the ‘weapon’, Swindon Crown Court was told he only had it in his hand because he needed it to start his car.

Cooper had been driving his car in the village on November 29 when he saw three teenagers playing football in Preston Lane, Lyneham.

As he passed there was some good humoured banter between him and the boys, some of whom he knew.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, said one of the group of youngsters said something pretty innocuous back to Cooper, causing him to pull up and park the car.

He got out and went across, telling the lads ‘give me your P’, which confused them but they assumed was referring to money. As some of them knew him they thought he was still joking, so one of them said: “I haven’t got much – 50p.”

Cooper demanded the football instead, the court heard.

The teenagers became slightly alarmed as they saw he had a screwdriver in his hand, but they refused and he returned to his car.

Cooper, of Pound Close, Lyneham, admitted three counts of attempted robbery and possessing a bladed article. Mike Jeary, defending, handed in a number of references and urged the court not to impose a jail term.

Passing sentence, the judge said: “It is agreed what you were doing was showing off to your friends in the car. It was stupid, ill thought out, amateurish and half baked.”

He imposed a one-year community order and told Cooper to carry out 150 hours of community service and observe a night-time curfew for three months.