A TEENAGER has been swiftly locked up after being caught with a knife on the day of a rumoured protest in Warrington.

Thomas Connelly was given an immediate sentence of detention at Chester Magistrates’ Court this morning, Wednesday, having only been charged within the past 24 hours.

The 18-year-old admitted the charge of possessing a bladed article in a public place.

On Wednesday, August 7, at approximately 5.40pm, officers from Cheshire Police were carrying out reassurance patrols in Warrington.

On that day, the force had issued a dispersal order following widespread reports of a planned protest in the town, linked to national disorder across the nation at the time.

Rumours – which later proved to be false – suggested a gathering on Orford Lane, which is where police officers spotted Connelly acting suspiciously.

As part of the dispersal order, officers in Warrington had been given additional stop and search powers to provide reassurance to the public.

As such, they could stop and search any person or vehicle they believed may have been carrying weapons or causing serious violence, whether or not they have any grounds of suspicion.

Connelly appeared to be videoing the location, and when he was approached by police to be stopped and searched, he admitted having a folding lock knife in his pocket.

As a result, he was subsequently arrested for the offence and later charged.

After admitting the charge this morning, the defendant, of Regency Square in Bewsey, was sentenced to 26 weeks in a young offender institution.

The sentence was welcomed by Cheshire Police, with a spokesman commenting: “Since the start of the recent disorder in other areas of the UK, we have been clear that we will not tolerate this kind of behaviour in Cheshire, including those who choose to carry a weapon.

“Connelly was spotted in a location where there were rumours circulating about an alleged protest.

“While this did not prove to be true, Connelly had clearly made his way to Orford Lane after hearing this speculation.

“If you choose to carry a knife, you are much more likely to be involved in knife crime, and I hope this serves as a reminder of how seriously we take offences of this nature.”