A MAN who threatened to stab and cut his friend "so he would never walk again" was spared prison time.

Andrew Goundry, 43, of Monkton Street, Ryde, admitted possession of a knife in a public place, using threatening words or behaviour and two offences of sending threatening messages.

Goundry was going to meet a friend of his when he found the friend in the company of two people he had an ongoing feud with, Tim Compton, prosecuting, told Isle of Wight Crown Court.

He was so angry that when he saw his friend later in the day he called him a traitor and said he was going to stab him and cut him so he would never walk again, Mr Compton said.

Police located the defendant sitting on a bench in a church yard and saw him trying to hide the knife between the slats of the bench.

For Goundry, Oscar Vincent told the court his client had a bad history with the two people his friend met up with and accused them of burgling his home and destroying his property.

Mr Vincent said Goundry suffered with long term mental health issues and when he found his friend in the company of those two people, he was dismayed.

There was a verbal altercation and then one of the two people hit Goundry in the back of the head and Goundry walked away, Mr Vincent said.

"That incident left Mr Goundry in an extremely emotional and upset state," Mr Vincent told the court.

He went home and sent a number of messages to his friend and one to his mental health support worker to tell her he had armed himself with the knife, so she called the police.

He later went out and found his friend still in town.

Mr Vincent said that at no time was the knife brandished or seen during the altercation with his friend.

With the prospect of prison time, Mr Vincent said his client cared for his partner who suffered with severe mobility issues and that there was no one else to look after her if he went to prison.

Sentencing, Judge Timothy Mousley said: "Those two people had treated you very badly, but that is no excuse for arming yourself with a knife. Your actions were completely out of proportion."

Goundry was sentenced to a total of eight months, suspended for 18 months, with 40 rehabilitation days.

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