Sutton man left with £1,000 court bill after carrying work knife and drugs

Police stopped Lee Bird as he was driving a Peugeot on Lammas Road, on the evening of September 29, said prosecutor Daniel Pietryka.

A subsequent search revealed small quantities of the class A drugs on his person and a lock knife from the driver's side pocket, the court heard.

He told police he had forgotten about the knife, but admitted the drugs were for himself and "that there was some addiction to drugs".

Mark Stocks, mitigating for the defendant, told the court that he pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity "after making very candid admissions”.

"He gave a full admission for why he was carrying the knife," Mr Stocks said.

"A couple of days before he put it in his coat pocket instead of his tool box. It is very close to a reasonable defence - but not quite as he wasn't travelling to or from work at the time.

"The knife wasn't used to threaten, intimidate or injure anyone. His record shows a significant break in offending since 2009."

Bird, aged 41, of Ashleigh Avenue, Sutton, admitted possession of class A drugs and a knife in a public place, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Tuesday.

He was fined £733 and ordered to pay a £293 surcharge and £85 costs. The drugs and the knife were confiscated and ordered to be destroyed.