A customer at a rural pub was found to be carrying a knuckleduster when police woke him while he slept in the back of a car. Officers had been called to the Twice Brewed Inn, near Hadrian's Wall, after staff reported a punter being aggressive and assaulting others.
Police called to Twice Brewed Inn
Upon arrival, they were told that David Morrison, who was allegedly the man responsible, was now asleep in a vehicle in the car park. The constables woke Morrison up and he immediately turned aggressive, prompting him to be detained and searched, a court was told.
A knuckleduster was then found in his trouser pocket and the 38-year-old was arrested for possession of an offensive weapon. Morrison, of Swarland Road in Seaton Delaval, pleaded guilty to the charge when he appeared at South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court this week.
Incident details in court
Clare Haswell, prosecuting, said police were called to the Twice Brewed Inn on February 22 this year after staff reported an aggressive customer. Miss Haswell continued: "Officers located a male matching the description situated in a vehicle in the car park. The owner of the vehicle said the man asleep in his car was the man responsible. When officers attempted to wake the defendant up, he became argumentative and aggressive and reached in his pocket. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth."
The court heard that Morrison was pulled from the vehicle and placed in handcuffs before being searched. Miss Haswell added: "A knuckleduster was located in the right pocket of his tracksuit bottoms."
Defendant's record and sentence
Magistrates heard that Morrison had 54 offences on his record and, since the offence, had been given a community order for arson. Steve Chambers, defending, asked for the community order to be allowed to continue. He added: "There's no suggestion that he'd made any threat to use the knuckleduster or has actually used it. He does have mental health issues."
Morrison was fined £200 and must pay £85 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.
