An ‘emotionally unstable’ man has walked free from court after he swung an axe at police officers and threatened to shoot them with an air rifle, a court heard.
Paul Ashworth said that he didn’t want to hurt anybody but himself and could not recall waving his axe.
This was because he had shot himself with the rifle before police officers forced entry into his bedroom - which he had locked himself inside, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
The North West Ambulance Service was called to Ashworth’s home address at Printers Fold, Hollingworth, Hyde, on the evening of March 29 after he had taken an overdose.
But paramedics called police after the 57-year-old wouldn’t leave the address and had weapons, the court heard.
Ashworth made threats to shoot police officers if the firearms unit was called or if they entered his bedroom.
But officers took the decision to force entry and found the defendant with ’both of his hands on a double-edged axe’.
“He swung the axe towards them,” Rachel Widdicombe, prosecuting, told the court.
An officer then struck Ashworth on the face to get him to drop the weapon.
He was handcuffed and as he wouldn’t walk down the stairs, officers carried him to the ambulance, the prosecution told the court.
Ms Widdicombe said his aggressive behaviour continued in the ambulance and in the hospital.
It later became known that the defendant was wearing body armour and that he had a significant number of weapons at his address.
This included the axe, an air rifle, and two swords.
In a police interview after the events in March, Ashworth said that he ‘wanted to kill himself and didn’t want to hurt anyone else’, the court heard.
Ashworth’s defence barrister said the the weapons weren’t just ‘lying around the place’ as they were stored in cases and were all legally held with licences.
Thomas McKail said that the defendant took an overdose and contacted his friend.
“This was a cry for help,” he said.
But one that he went about in a 'wholly inappropriate manner'.
Mr McKail said that Ashworth is sorry and that he accepts what he has done.
The court heard that he is an intelligent man with no previous convictions who has a ‘strong work ethic’ and a university education.
He has been in the armed forces and has worked in journalism and in financial consultancy.
But Mr McKail said that he has had a ‘difficult upbringing’ and has experienced trauma - which in part explains his behaviour and relationship with alcohol - which he has had problems with since he was 16-years-old.
“Had you been a man with previous convictions for violent behaviour and had you not had the mental health difficulties, you would without question be facing immediate custody here today,” Judge Angela Nield told the defendant.
The court heard that Ashworth had made previous suicide attempts, that he has mental health difficulties, and is an ‘emotionally unstable person’.
The judge said that imposing a custodial sentence on Ashworth would be counterproductive as it would be ‘highly likely to impact negatively’ on his mental health.
For an offence of for affray, Ashworth was given a 16 month sentence suspended by two years, which includes 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
He has also been told to pay a victim surcharge.
Another hearing has been scheduled for the forfeit and destruction of his weapons.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of assaulting an emergency worker - but the Crown Prosecution Service decided that it was not in the public interest for a trial to take place.
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