A COUPLE who stopped and detained a teenager armed with a knife in an Ellesmere Port street have been commended in the crown court.

The teenager – 18-year-old Bradley Cooper – was on Sutton Way dressed in boxer shorts and a bomber jacket and was in an "agitated state" on the night of the incident, Chester Crown Court heard on Monday, December 6.

Cooper was handed a suspended sentence after pleading guilty at the first opportunity to possession of a bladed article and affray.

Prosecuting, Jayne Morris said Cooper, who was drunk, said he was "going to stab" a man he believed had been having sex with his girlfriend.

It was then at about 11.15pm on Bonfire Night – November 5 – that Andrew Bryan, who was walking down the street with Hayley Livens, saw Cooper and the fact he had an eight-inch kitchen knife.

They told the children they were with to run away and go home, while Mr Bryan talked to Cooper to calm him down and Ms Livens helped detain Cooper until police arrived.

Recorder Ian Harris said he wanted to commend the "bravery" of the two, "who put others before themselves", "ensured the safety of the children" and "de-escalated the situation".

The judge added they were to be rewarded with £150 of public funds.

Ms Morris said Cooper had taken the kitchen knife out from his boxer shorts and was "waving it around", saying: "I am going to stab you up," accusing a man of having sex with his girlfriend while she was pregnant.

Mr Bryan began shouting to Cooper, who then asked for the victim's name.

Mr Bryan said he was not the man Cooper was looking for, and tried to calm him down.

Cooper began walking around in circles on a grass verge, and police were contacted. Mr Bryan offered Cooper a cigarette and Cooper put the knife back in his boxer shorts, while Ms Livens sat with her legs on top of Cooper's to detain him.

When police arrived, Cooper began to get agitated again, and he was restrained and taken to the police station.

Mr Bryan said in a statement the incident lasted for about 15 minutes and initially he was panicking for other people's safety.

Cooper, when interviewed, gave a prepared statement accepting he had a knife but denied intending to cause anyone any harm or distress.

He had no previous convictions or cautions.

Defending, Michael Whitty said there had been a pre-sentence report and two positive testimonials in respect of Cooper, of Oak Road, Lache, who was a man of previous good character, and recognised the "perilous position" he had put himself in.

He "badly regrets" his actions, Mr Whitty added, and no-one was injured in the incident.

Cooper now had a "concrete offer" of employment and an offer for accommodation with the Lock Project in Ellesmere Port, as well as a new-born child.

He had taken steps to ensure his behaviour that night was "not the beginning of his criminal career but the end of it".

Recorder Harris said Cooper had been at a party that night when was "ruminating on suggestions" that his partner had been unfaithful, and "lost control".

He added that his actions of arming himself with an eight-inch kitchen knife could have been out of a prosecution opening for a murder trial.

He said: "Communities are sick and tired of people resorting to knives for revenge. It was a dangerous and calculated attempt to exact revenge for a perceived slight."

But the judge added there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

A 14-month term in a young offenders institute was suspended for two years. Cooper must carry out 20 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement and 140 hours unpaid work.