South Yorkshire man caught with a knife at Asda supermarket is put behind bars

Sheffield Crown Court heard on April 23 how Darren Lidster, aged 34, of Woodside Walk, Munsbrough, Rotherham, had been at an Asda in Rotherham when he ran from a store detective before telling him he had a knife.

Susan Evans, prosecuting, said the detective asked Lidster to stop but he ran and he was holding a knife.

Lidster, who has previous convictions including possessing knives in public, pleaded guilty to possessing a bladed article in public after the incident on March 3.

The court heard Lidster had subsequently breached a suspended sentence order which had previously been imposed for battery and breaching a restraining order.

Richard Davies, defending, said Lidster has personal problems and suffers with autism and a personality disorder.

Judge Roger Thomas QC told Lidster: “Every time that someone has a bladed article the sequence of events is that someone gets that bladed article out of their pocket and it's open and the blade is there and the next thing is that blade is used.

“Your constant use and possession of bladed articles is a real worry.

“Parliament is worried, the Sentencing Council is worried and the public are worried and the courts are worried about it so there has to be a minimum sentence of six months.”

Judge Thomas sentenced Lidster to 40 weeks of custody.