A drunk man who walked around a Pembrokeshire town centre with a crossbow and bolts was told by a judge he would be going to jail if he had been properly prosecuted.

Angelo Edwards, aged 25, of Garfield Gardens, Narberth, was arrested in the town in the early hours of May 29 after a 999 call.

Judge Peter Heywood said an unloaded crossbow was not necessarily classed as a dangerous weapon and so he was presented with a case of a man pleading guilty only to possessing three bolts.

He said the Crown Prosecution Service should have refused to accept the plea of guilty and taken Edwards to trial linking the crossbow and the bolts.

Had Edwards been convicted, he added, he would have sent him to jail for a substantial period.

He said he was now in the "artificial" situation of having to sentence Edwards only for the bolts.

Brian Simpson, prosecuting, said Edwards was seen in Castle Street with the crossbow and CCTV cameras showed him pointing the crossbow from the hip and people moving out of his way.

During interviews he said he had been drunk and could remember going out to meet friends but nothing after that.

Judge Heywood said Edwards had breached a suspended prison sentence imposed in November, 2009, for an earlier offence.

"Had this case come here on a proper basis you would be looking at a substantial sentence.

"You have heard my observations. The way this case has been handled means I cannot sentence you in the way I would have.

"You should have been dealt with for possessing an offensive weapon. This was mindless and dangerous.

"Your explanation that it was not appropriate to show your friends the weapon inside your home, it is beyond belief. But I can deal with you only for the possession of the bolts," he added.

Judge Heywood jailed Edwards for 16 weeks, suspended for 18 months, and placed him under supervision for 18 months. Edwards must also attend a thinking skills programme.

Edwards was made the subject of a 7pm to 7am curfew for three months, electronically tagged.

The Judge said: "You have two suspended sentences and you are lucky not to be going into custody. If this had been presented on a proper basis you would be heading for prison. It's a totally unacceptable situation."