Hartlepool dad of five spared jail after following ex-partner in his car carrying two knives

The mother of nine said that she had left her home in Hartlepool and that Alan Peterson, 42, had followed her in his car to an address in Middlesbrough with two knives.

Two officers responded to the late night 999 call on July 12 and they found the knives when they looked inside his Citroen. One knife was stuck in the dashboard and the other was on the front passenger seat, Teesside Crown Court was told.

Peterson became aggressive and he was arrested after a violent struggle, said prosecutor Harry Hadfield.

He was taken to Middlesbrough Police Station where he was asked for a breath specimen. He was foaming at the mouth and appeared to be talking to a tattoo on his leg. He had 14 convictions for 73 offences, the final one in 2009 for driving with excess alcohol.

Harry Crowson, defending, said that Peterson had the knives with him to harm himself. He was distraught and angry but nobody was put in harm’s way.

He said that Peterson had stayed out of trouble for 10 years after meeting his partner who had four children and they had another five children together.

Peterson, of Haven Walk, was given an eight-month jail sentence suspended for 18 months and disqualified for 18 months with 150 hours’ unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation requirements after he pleaded guilty to possessing a bladed article and failing to provide a specimen of breath.