A MAN who was caught carrying a knife for the third time in 12 months has been jailed for eight months and eight weeks.

Bolton Crown Court heard how police officers stopped Barry Griffin on Bradford Street, Bolton, on January 15 and found a small kitchen knife, in a home-made sheath, in a pocket.

Griffin, aged 37, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to possessing a knife in public and appeared in court via a video link from prison for sentencing.

Virginia Hayton, defending, said: “He can’t really explain why he carries a knife.

"He has never actually used it or threatened anyone with it.”

She added that the father-of-two has now vowed to stop carrying knives after learning that a close friend was recently stabbed.

"He tells me he will never carry one again," she said.

Sentencing Griffin, Judge Graeme Smith told him: "Knife crime is a particularly serious problem in this country at the moment.

" Carrying a knife increases the risk that, if something happens, the consequences can be very serious indeed."