KNIFE carriers were warned by a judge today they would receive jail sentences following decisions taken in Parliament.

Judge Geraint Walters issued the warning as he jailed Pembroke Dock man Lee Anthony Shakeshaft for 12 months.

Swansea crown court heard that police approached Shakeshaft, aged 30, in Meyrick Street on February 2 about a completely different matter.

They told him he would be arrested but first they had to search him.

Shakeshaft immediately pulled out a knife with a three-inch blade and handed it to a friend walking with him.

After his arrest he was bailed to attend a court hearing but failed to turn up.

Shakeshaft, of London Road, admitted possessing a knife in a public place and breaching the terms of his bail.

He also admitted breaching a community order imposed for earlier offending.

Judge Walters said it was the third time Shakeshaft had been found carrying a bladed article in a public place.

Parliament, he said, had made it clear that a minimum jail sentence had to be passed on anyone caught with a knife on more than one occasion.

"If you carry a knife now it is going to be very difficult to avoid a prison sentence. When there is a knife involved things can escalate," added the judge.