A TEENAGER who threatened two other youths with a knife in Great Sankey has been spared immediate custody.

The incident on October 5 this year saw armed police descend on the area near Barrow Hall Lane and Cronulla Drive.

Officers carried out a search of the area and located the suspect, where he was detained on suspicion of affray and possession of a bladed article in a public place.

The 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared for sentence at Warrington Magistrates Court on Thursday.

He was charged with using or threatening unlawful violence towards other persons, with conduct that would cause a person to fear for his personal safety.

The teen was also charged with being in possession of a kitchen knife, without good reason or lawful authority, in a public place.

Both offences were committed while the boy, who is from the Liverpool area, was subject to a youth rehabilitation order.

The court heard at an earlier hearing how he threatened his two victims with knife over an unpaid debt.

The incident led to an altercation, with the teen throwing punches and the victims throwing punches back.

The defendant brandished the knife and the pair ran off, with the knife-wielding teen giving chase.

The incident occurred in the Barrow Hall Lane and Cronulla Drive area of Great Sankey(Image: Google Maps)

The incident occurred in the Barrow Hall Lane and Cronulla Drive area of Great Sankey(Image: Google Maps)

The incident was witnessed by dog walker, with the defendant turning to the onlooker and saying: “Sorry about that love.”

Police were called and the teen cycled past officers on his bike, but he was stopped and discovered with the knife down his trousers.

In his defence, the court heard how the defendant is a regular user of cannabis. He had a drug debt of £50 debt, which resulted in him being threatened with damage his home address.

He agreed to meet the pair but had no intention of paying them, and thought there would be a fight and took the knife for protection.

His defence said that he made ‘full and frank’ admissions in interview.

Taking the defendant’s guilty pleas into account, district judge Nicholas Sanders sentenced him to a 12-month youth rehabilitation order with ‘intensive supervision and surveillance’.

He was also told he must complete extended activity requirement for 90 days and made subject to a curfew between 11.30pm and 7am for 90 days monitored by an electronic tag.

In addition, he must pay a £22 victim surcharge.

An order was approved for the forfeiture and destruction of the kitchen knife.