A MAN who abandoned a machete in the home of a stranger was jailed after his account of the incident was questioned by a judge.

Forty-year-old Neil Mundy was given the 14-month prison sentence at Durham Crown Court after admitting a charge of possessing a bladed article in public.

Chris Baker, prosecuting, said police were called to Seymour Street, Bishop Auckland, after reports of a man with a machete, on July 13.

Mundy was breathing heavily and sweating by the officers reaching the scene.

He said he had been chased by a group of young males, but another man then approached, telling the officers that Mundy, who he did not know, had run through his house and left a machete in the kitchen.

Mundy claimed he bought it for £2 the previous day at a market in Chester-le-Street for cutting wood.

Mr Baker said Mundy claimed he left the machete in his car and used it to frighten off youths who were throwing stones at the vehicle as he passed through Bishop Auckland.

He claimed he turned a corner and came upon a group he did not recognise, but who seemed to know his name and gave chase.

In trying to flee, Mundy said he ran into a house, but dropped the machete when he was asked to leave.

Lewis Kerr, mitigating, said although his client has, “an unenviable record”, the latest offence went against the grain of recent years, during which he has largely kept out of trouble.

He added that Mundy, of Cleveland Avenue, Chester-le-Street, has been largely drug-free recently, but the incident took place during a lapse last month.

Jailing him, Judge Hickey told Mundy: “The account you put forward, I just don’t accept.”

The judge also ordered forfeiture and destruction of the machete.