A MAN who battered a door with a hoe then got caught while on court bail with a machete down his trousers has been jailed for a year.

Trishton Whyte, 20, was sent down by Swindon magistrates last week after he admitted possession of a weapon, possession of a blade, cannabis possession and affray.

Welcoming the sentence, PC Craig Head said: "Both incidences are very serious; the threatening behaviour towards a Swindon resident, using a garden implement as a weapon, and the separate incident of Whyte carrying an illegal machete which could cause someone serious harm, were both unacceptable.

"The message here is that carrying a knife as a weapon is not only breaking the law but the person carrying it is more likely to be seriously or fatally injured compared to someone who isn't.

"Also, if you are caught in possession of such a knife, you are more likely to end up in prison."

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Trishton Whyte's custody shot Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE

On March 8, Whyte was the passenger in a car pulled over by police because officers thought the vehicle was speeding and had a broken brake light.

Together with the driver and the car, Whyte was searched for drugs after officers smelt cannabis. The men were en route to KFC.

Last month, prosecutor Keith Ballinger told the JPs: “The officer asks if there is anything on him he shouldn’t have. He responded that he did. Asked what it was, he said: ‘It’s a knife but it’s for my own protection.’”

The machete was said to have been in a sheath and stuffed down the leg of his jogging bottoms.

He was on bail at the time, having pleaded guilty in February to battering at the door of a house in Meadowcroft, Stratton, with a hoe and making threats to harm a boy living in the house.

Appearing before the court in early March, Whyte, of Ruskin Avenue, was shocked to hear he faced a mandatory prison sentence for the weapons offences. He said from the dock: “You think I’m going to jail for this?”

On April 1, magistrates imposed 12 months’ imprisonment. The drugs and weapons were forfeit and Whyte was ordered to pay £213 in costs and surcharge.