Suspended sentence for early morning axe caller

39-year-old convicted after trial

A Douglas man's been handed a suspended prison sentence after a turning up at a stranger's house carrying a hatchet.

Thirty-nine-year-old David Mark Priestnal, of Darragh Way, was sentenced at Douglas Courthouse.

He'd pleaded not guilty to carrying a prohibited article in public on 5 June but was convicted following a trial.

The trial heard Priestnal had knocked at a door on Anagh Coar Road, at 4am, claiming he'd tracked his phone there.

When householders told him they didn't know what he was talking about Priestnal walked away swinging an axe.

They called police and heard Priestnal shouting about his phone outside.

After hearing Priestnal had a number of previous convictions magistrates jailed him for six months which was suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to pay a total of £600 towards the costs of his prosecution.