A KNIFE in a sheath fell out of a man’s pocket after an ambulance had been called to him in Rhyl, a court heard today (June 15), when he was jailed for six months.

Defence solicitor Nia Dawson at Llandudno court said it was “appalling” that 22-year-old Bradley McDonnell, living in a shelter for the homeless at Queensferry, was only now appearing in court for an offence in May last year.

“While in the ambulance there was no suggestion he behaved badly,” the lawyer remarked.

McDonnell, said by the probation service to have mental health issues, admitted having the knife at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd.

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The prosecution said there was no explanation for the delay.

Mrs Dawson said McDonnell’s circumstances had changed dramatically since the offence.

He had been street homeless and estranged from his family.

Now the defendant had enrolled on a criminology course, had temporary accommodation and a job in a chicken factory, and had a relationship with his family.

He’d made strenuous steps to turn his life around.

But the court heard he was under a suspended sentence for possessing a blade.

District judge Gwyn Jones told the defendant: “This was an offence committed during the operational period of a suspended sentence imposed on October 5, 2020.

“The starting point must be the activation of the custodial sentence.”

The suspended sentence was activated and a six-month jail term imposed for the new offence, concurrently.