By Olivia Russell
Two men have been spared jail after being found armed with knives to protect themselves on nights out in the town centre.
Nickolaj Budowski, 19 and Alan Walsiuk, 22 were caught by police outside Halfords on Bradford Road late on November 1st last year in possession of the weapons, following a night out.
Both men claimed they had a history of being provoked and interrogated in town, and carried knives as a means of self-defence and protection.
Rebecca Dunford, prosecuting said: “The defendants were detained when police received information about an allegation with which no further action was taken”.
Walsiuk, of Browing Road, Deighton said he “feared for their lives after being chased by criminals”, and had issues concerning knife crime with people younger than him where he lives.
Walsiuk was also found in possession of cannabis upon his arrest, as well as having a knife on his personal.
Probation officer, Julie Rock told magistrates: “He had been threatened with a knife a few weeks back by a man wearing a balaclava”.
Budowski, of Hammond Street, Fartown, said he was scared for his own safety, living in a high crime rate suburb.
Both men pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article and possession of a Class B drug.
The men convicted have been cleared of jail at Kirklees Magistrates Court, being sentenced to a community order as a direct alternative for custody; in an effort to rehabilitate them.
They will undergo sessions focusing on gang culture and knife crime
They have been ordered to pay £85 in court costs and a £90 victim charge and must conduct 120 hours of unpaid work.
The weapons carried were seized and destroyed.