A 34-year-old man caught with a meat cleaver, told police he was taking to a friend’s house to cook with.

On March 3, Leon Kett, of Beecheno Road, Norwich, was arrested by police in the Knwowland Grove area of Norwich, after he was found with a meat cleaver in his rucksack.

Appearing at Norwich Crown Court on June 19, Kett pleaded guilty to having a bladed article in public and not guilty to one count of assault.

Prosecuting, Chris Youell told the court how on March 3, Kett had gone to visit his father, who lived in Knowland Grove, to tell him of a death in the family.

The situation had soured and Kett’s father had left the property to call the police, who arrested Kett nearby soon afterwards.

Mr Oliver said since the incident, Kett had been addressing his relationship with alcohol and had also become a full time carer to his mother.

Sentencing Kett, Judge Andrew Shaw, said it was “foolish in the extreme” to carry a knife such as a meat cleaver somewhere to cook with but that he didn’t believe Kett would have used the knife against his father.

Kett was sentenced to a six month prison sentence suspended for 18-months.