A DRUNKEN teenager, who was waving a knife around to ‘scare’ a man he claimed had attacked him, was spared jail.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Ashley Whowell, 18, went on the rampage with the garden tool, used for sawing bushes. Whowell was said to have threatened to stab his victim, and told police he had no intention of causing injury to him and just wanted to get back at him.

Whowell, who has a previous conviction for assaulting a farmer, was said to have had 20 pints of beer before he struck.

The defendant, of Settle Terrace, Burnley, had admitted affray and possessing an offensive weapon and had been committed for sentence by magistrates. He was given 36 weeks in detention, suspended for 12 months, with 200 hours unpaid work.