A MAN who stole a lawnmower has been jailed after appearing in court for the third time in two years for carrying a knife.

District Judge Roy Anderson, sitting at Harrogate Magistrates' Court, told Paul Nelson the public were rightly concerned about people with weapons and were entitled to expect the courts to deal firmly with offenders.

Nelson, 39, was jailed for eight weeks after pleading guilty to theft and possession of a kitchen knife, an offence which put him in breach of a conditional discharge imposed for carrying two knives last October.

Martin Butterworth, prosecuting, said Nelson had been seen by gardener Tim Yarrow pushing one of his mowers along Kings Road in Harrogate.

In mitigation, Geoffrey Boothby said Nelson had not worked since coming out of a coma following a head injury more than a decade ago. He was frustrated and depressed and thought the mower would help him get odd jobs.

Mr Boothby said Mr Yarrow had detained Nelson, "gave him quite a beating", and the knife fell from Nelson's back pocket.