A MAN has been jailed for carrying an eight-inch hunting knife hidden in a shopping bag and just metres away from a town centre.

Gregory Snell, of Wensum Crescent, Bicester, was caught with the weapon hidden inside a bag by a police officer at Tramway Road, Banbury.

When he was stopped by officers, sometime after midnight on December 28, the 39-year old had initially denied owning the blade, claiming he had found it and wanted to 'mitigate any danger to passers-by' by claiming it for himself.

In a second interview he then changed his story further and told officers that his friend, Paddy, who he was with at the time, had the knife and not him.

He ultimately pleaded guilty to the offence at Banbury Magistrates' Court last month.

At his sentencing at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday, Judge Zoe Smith said: "People who carry knives commit a very serious offence.

"It maybe carrying with the intention of not using the knife but they do come out. The knife here is a particularly nasty knife.

"It is an eight inch knife with a serrated blade edge. What are they doing out and about with a knife like that?"

The court heard how Snell had also been sentenced for a similar offence of possessing a hunting knife some ten years ago, where it was claimed to have been part of a fishing kit.

In his mitigation, the court heard from his defence team how he was 'up and coming' and had launched his own business while simultaneously juggling the responsibility of his looking after his family.

Defending Graham Logan, said: "Since 2011 he is man who has created a home away from the criminal justice system and provided a stable home for his two children.

"That hasn't been easy by the fact that there is a history of mental health issues."

He added that his client who is a diagnosed schizophrenic had not been taking his medication at the time of the incident.

However, Judge Smith said: "In interviews you firstly told officers you found the blade moments before your arrest and in your second interview you said the second person had owned the blade.

"I am afraid the evidence shows that you had the blade for a considerable amount of time.

"Carrying a knife is so serious that a custodial sentence is the only option."

Snell was jailed for three months and also ordered to pay a victim surcharge.