A MAN who threatened his ex-partner with an axe in Cardigan has escaped a prison sentence.

Paul Deary, of 29 Ffynnon Wen, St Davids, was convicted after a trial of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place on 21 August.

Magistrates heard that he was facing a six-month prison sentence as he had been convicted in 2008 of possession of a knife.

However, magistrates said they belie­ved that allowing Deary to continue accessing support and assistance from agencies would be more beneficial to him.

Prosecutor Ellie Morgan said Deary, 35, had been speaking to his ex-partner after she saw him near the restaurant where she worked.

She said that Deary was clearly drunk and angry about something and started saying that his current girlfriend’s car had been damaged and accused his ex of committing the damage, which she denied.

She told police that Deary started talking about causing trouble bec­ause other people had caused him trouble and then mentioned that he was going to take an axe into the restaurant.

Deary then pulled up his shirt and showed her a short-handled axe which was about 12 inches long before saying: “I’ll do you with the axe”.

She then ran off and hid as she was scared that Deary might hurt her before a colleague from the restaurant came out to help calm her down. The woman then phoned the police.

Ms Morgan said the victim had told police that she did not feel safe and was scared of Deary and what he might do if she happened to see him when he was drunk.

Defence solicitor Alison Mathias said that Deary had never intended to hurt his ex-partner or use the axe to cause any injury to anybody, but that he had been meaning to scare her.

Ms Mathias said Deary had been going through a difficult time and that friction between his ex and his current partner had contributed to that.

She said that Deary’s current partner was seen as a good influence on him and had led to him trying to add­ress his issues with alcohol.

While magistrates had to consider sending Deary to prison because it was his second conviction of having a weapon, Ms Mathias said that would not address the issues that led to Deary offending and could actually cause more problems in the long-term.

Magistrates said they wanted Deary to continue to receive assistance so imposed a six-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.

As part of the suspended sentence order he will have to complete 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days and complete 120 hours of unpaid work.

He was also ordered to pay costs of £580 and a court charge of £1,000 and was made subject to a two-year restraining order to keep away from his ex-partner.