PEOPLE who take knives out into the street could expect immediate custody, a judge warned today (Tuesday).

Judge Rhys Rowlands was speaking as he jailed a young man from Rhyl who admitted that he had a knife in a public house in the resort.

Mold Crown Court was told that Luke Lamond had not brandished or produced the knife.

But after he was ejected from a pub he was seen to hide it in a bin in a nearby alleyway.

Lamond, 28, of Hawthorn Close in Rhyl, admitted possessing a blade in a public place and told how he carried it for his own protection after he himself had previously been stabbed.

Judge Rowlands jailed him for 32 weeks and said people needed to realise that if they chose to take knives out in public then they are likely to go into custody.

His knife which had a four inch blade was “a very dangerous weapon”, he said.

It was capable of causing very serious injury and it had been taken out into the street and onto licensed premises by a man who was drinking and with previous convictions for anti-social behaviour.

“Taking knives out onto the streets and onto licensed premises causes great concern to the courts and to wider society,” said Judge Rowlands.

“Individuals who have been out drinking will not be in full control.

“Whatever their intentions, there is a real risk that they will be used by the individual who took it out, or used against them.”

He said that could lead to very serious and even fatal incidents “as we have seen to our cost in North Wales.”

Prosecutor David Mainstone told how Richard Stones was the licensee of O’Grady’s public house and one evening last December the defendant was told to leave.

He ignored that and went into the beer garden and was asked to leave a second time.

The defendant swore and was abusive when ejected and asked the landlord to go outside.

He said they could go around the corner to speak.

Police were called but before they arrived a member of staff saw him discard something in a bin.

Officers recovered the knife, the defendant denied it was anything to do with him, but his DNA was found on it.

Lamond had previous convictions for 35 offences including the possession of a knife, which meant he now faced a minimum six month sentence.

Defending barrister Maria Massellis stressed that the knife had not been produced or brandished.

His background was particularly poor, he had been in the care system since the age of 11 which had not been a happy experience for him.

But he had obtained qualifications.

The defendant had unresolved anger issues and alcohol and other substances had featured as he self-medicated.

His circumstances were not entirely of his own making, he had a personality disorder and he was hoping to re-engage with the mental health services, Miss Massellis explained.

The judge said he could not understand why a straight-forward matter had taken a year to be sentenced and he had taken that into account in sentencing.

An order was made that the knife be destroyed.