Man swung hammer at victim in Cockermouth street

A man who repeatedly swung a hammer towards another man after directing crude abuse towards him has been spared immediate prison.

Trouble flared in Cockermouth’s Market Place car park at around 7.30pm on December 22, 2020. The victim had just finished work and was separating from a colleague when he was approached by Jordan James Black.

Black, 24, used words including “you’re not from round here” and “I know what you’ve done”; he delivered a verbal insult; and indicated a wish to fight, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

Black then produced a claw hammer which he swung at the man three or four times. “He managed to dodge every blow and then the defendant simply walked off,” said prosecutor Brendan Burke. Black was arrested later that night and was found guilty by magistrates of threatening another with an offensive weapon.

Black had what the judge, Recorder Tony Hawks, called a “shocking” record of previous convictions which included offences of violence and dishonesty. However, Recorder Hawks said he was faced with a choice: either to impose an immediate jail term with Black continuing his criminal cycle upon release — or offering help to break the cycle.

Recorder Hawks opted for the latter, suspending an 18-month jail term for 18 months. Black, of Napier Street, Workington, must complete a “thinking skills” course, rehabilitation and an alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement which will flag up any intake through a tag during a 100-day period.

“You don’t have to spend the rest of your life in prison,” said Recorder Hawks, “but if that’s what you want to do there is plenty of room for you, despite reports in the press to the contrary.”