A 35-year-old Hitchin man has been jailed for six months after being convicted of carrying a blade for the second time.
Matthew Campbell, of Benchley Hill, admitted carrying the blue-handled lock knife in Queen Street on August 15 when he appeared before Stevenage magistrates on Wednesday.
He had denied the charge during a previous hearing on August 17, but pleaded guilty on what had been set to be the day of the trial.
Campbell had already pleaded guilty to stealing £2 of goods from Poundland in the town on June 2 – for which he was given a week-long jail term, to run concurrently.
The bench, chaired by Douglas Steele, noted that it was Campbell’s second offence involving blades. They ordered the lock knife to be forfeited and destroyed.
In addition to his prison sentence, Campbell must pay £115 surcharge.
Charges that the 35-year-old had stolen items from Hitchin’s branches of Asda and New Look on August 15 – which he denied – were dropped.
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