A 36-year-old man has been jailed for walking through Stevenage town centre with a snooker ball tied in a sock.

Aaron Robinson, of no fixed address, admitted possessing what a court deemed to be an offensive weapon when he appeared before Hatfield magistrates last week.

The bench, chaired by David Carter, jailed Robinson for 26 weeks – noting that the incident in St George’s Way on May 3 had been his “second like offence”, meaning a minimum mandatory sentence applied.

In addition to the jail term, Robinson must pay £115 surcharge.