Man was caught with knife in Dewsbury town centre

A judge told a potential army recruit caught with a knife in Dewsbury town centre that he didn’t want to ‘destroy’ his chance of serving in the armed forces.

Leeds Crown Court heard CCTV operators alerted police after spotting a group of men involved in a disturbance in the early hours of August 17.

Prosecutor, Carmel Pearson said: “They seemed to be aggressively arguing, various people were in possession of different weapons.”

Police spoke to 22-year-old Bradley Quinn, who admitted he had a black handled ‘butter’ knife in the waistband of his trousers.

Miss Pearson said: “He (Quinn) said he had been at a party at his friend’s house. He said his friend had been attacked. He said other people had weapons so he armed himself.”

Quinn, of Sackville Street, Ravensthorpe, admitted having a bladed article.

Mitigating, Michael Greenhalgh said: “He (Quinn) has an application pending to try to join the armed services. He is conscious if there was a prison sentence, either immediate or suspended, he would be ineligible to proceed with the application.”

Sentencing Quinn to a 12 month community order and 120 hours unpaid work, Judge Peter Hunt told him: “You are regarded as suitable for recruitment into Her Majesty’s forces.

“You are very close to enrolment and I do not want to take any step that destroys your chance of serving your country in that laudable way.”