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Six years for royal crowd axe man | Six years for royal crowd axe man |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A man found carrying an axe in a crowd of people waiting to see the Queen has been jailed for six years. | A man found carrying an axe in a crowd of people waiting to see the Queen has been jailed for six years. |
Daniel Bleazard, from Huddersfield, who was arrested as crowds waited for the royal visit to the town in May, was convicted of offences in December. | Daniel Bleazard, from Huddersfield, who was arrested as crowds waited for the royal visit to the town in May, was convicted of offences in December. |
Judge Jonathan Durham-Hall QC said he believed the 34-year-old had wanted to provoke armed police. | |
His actions could have endangered the public if officers had had to open fire to protect the Queen, he said. | His actions could have endangered the public if officers had had to open fire to protect the Queen, he said. |
Father-of-three Bleazard, of Adelphi Road, was given a three-year sentence for having an article with a blade and a further 18 months for breaching an anti-social behaviour order. | Father-of-three Bleazard, of Adelphi Road, was given a three-year sentence for having an article with a blade and a further 18 months for breaching an anti-social behaviour order. |
He was also found guilty of another charge of having an article with a blade and one of going equipped for theft, relating to a different incident, and jailed for a further 18 months. | He was also found guilty of another charge of having an article with a blade and one of going equipped for theft, relating to a different incident, and jailed for a further 18 months. |
You wanted to brandish that weapon in as close a proximity to Her Majesty as was possible Judge Jonathan Durham-Hall | |
The judge said this should be added to the rest of his sentence to make a total of six years in prison. | The judge said this should be added to the rest of his sentence to make a total of six years in prison. |
Bleazard had been found guilty of all the offences at an earlier trial. | Bleazard had been found guilty of all the offences at an earlier trial. |
The jury at that trial heard how the members of the public waiting for the royal visit to start on 24 May alerted uniformed police because a man seemed to be pushing towards the front of the crowd into an area where children were gathered. | |
The officers called in plain-clothes colleagues who grabbed Bleazard from behind. | |
They spotted what they thought was a pick-axe handle but when they arrested him they found he was carrying a felling axe with a 3ft long shaft. | |
The court heard how he said: "I just came to see the Queen" as he was led to a police van. | |
'Hatred of authority' | |
Giving evidence, Bleazard told the jury he needed the axe to chop wood at his home in Huddersfield because his chainsaw had broken. | |
Judge Durham Hall said Bleazard was an "angry and aggressive" man who had a string of minor convictions and a "deep, idiosyncratic hatred of authority". | |
"You wanted to brandish that weapon in as close a proximity to Her Majesty as was possible," said the judge. | |
He said there was probably no real risk of the Queen being harmed in this situation, adding she had "got more courage than the rest of us put together". | |
He also expressed his astonishment at hearing how Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) officials "at the highest levels" had tried to discontinue the case against Bleazard. | |
Bradford Crown Court heard the prosecution only continued after protests from the local police inspector. | |
The judge said: "It is, I find it, absolutely bewildering that there was any thought whatsoever given to discontinuing any part of this case. | |
"Others will have to make their judgment about that." |