A WEST Cumbrian man has been prosecuted after police arrested him in Whitehaven with a knuckle-duster and a ring which was equipped with a metal spike.

At Carlisle Crown Court, Michael Andrew Leach, 33, pleaded guilty to having an offensive weapon in a public place with no good reason; and to having an article with a metal point, again with no lawful reason.

The court heard how police caught him with the two illegal items at the Bransty Arch pub in Whitehaven on December 19 last year.

No further details of the offence were outlined.

But the defendant's defence lawyer Karen Tunnacliffe asked Judge Nicholas Barker to release the defendant - currently being held in custody.

She said that Leach, of Common End, Distington, now accepted that his behaviour when he was last in court had been foolish. Prosecutor Paul Brookwell told the judge that the defendant was lightly convicted, his last previous offence being a theft from his employer in 2010.

After hearing Miss Tunnacliffe's application, Judge Barker noted that the case was unusual and he commented on what he called the defendant's "behavioural" issues.

He granted Leach bail, and ordered background reports. The judge added: "You should not see it as any indication of sentence: carrying such an item as a knuckle-duster is a very serious matter." Leach will be sentenced on March 16.