A Haverfordwest man carried a claw hammer and kitchen knife to make him feel secure, a court has heard.

Carl Ronald David Morris, of Fleming Crescent, pleaded guilty to having a knife and hammer in a public place when he appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates on Tuesday, June 30.

Vaughan Pritchard-Jones, prosecuting, said police spotted Morris, 32, ducking into a hedge when he saw their car on Fishguard Road, Haverfordwest, on March 22.

When told he was going to be searched, Morris informed the officers he was carrying weapons, and a kitchen knife with a 3.5 inch blade and a claw hammer were recovered from his rucksack.

Mr Pritchard-Jones said: “He said he had no intention of causing any person any injury with it. He said the reason he had it was the voices in his head told him he would be harmed.”

He added: “The two items were not used or brandished, or seen by anybody.”

The court heard that Morris had long-standing mental health issues.

David Elvy, defending, said Morris, who suffered from auditory hallucinations, was fully cooperative with the police.

“He accepts he was wrong to have been armed on that occasion. The reality is that there is no likelihood that he would have used them. I suspect they were there to make him feel more secure.”

Magistrates imposed a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, with a 15-day rehabilitation activity.

Morris was ordered to pay £207 in costs and a surcharge, and the bench ordered the destruction of the hammer and knife.