A 55-year-old man who admitted brandishing a machete on a crowded train at Hitchin railway station has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Mark Thurston pulled the blade from his bag in front of fellow passengers on a train from London King’s Cross on the evening of January 29. Nobody was injured during the incident, which prompted a massive police response.

Passing sentence at Luton Crown Court on Wednesday, Judge Nigel Lithman gave him an eight-month prison term – suspended for two years.

He also imposed a four-month curfew on Thurston and ordered him to pay £340 in compensation.

Thurston, of Walnut Tree Avenue in Cambridge, pleaded guilty to five offences when he appeared before Stevenage magistrates in February.

He admitted having a blade in a public, possessing a small amount of cannabis, assaulting two constables and being threatening or abusive.

Chairman of the bench George Baxter sentenced him at that time for the final charge, ordering him to pay a £40 fine, £85 costs and £30 surcharge. He was committed to crown court for last week’s sentencing over the other four offences.