A knifeman told police he had thoughts of harming others in order to get help with his mental health, a Christmas court heard.

Luis Rodrigues, 24, felt his previous attempts to get help from the council and other agencies had ‘not been getting him anywhere’.

His solicitor, Nawaz Khan, said: “He felt in such a low state of mood and mindset that he went into the town with this knife in his bag which was zipped up and in less than five minutes he called the police saying he needed help.”

Oxford Magistrates’ Court heard that police officers had found Rodrigues sat on a bench outside St Peter’s and St Paul’s church, Wantage, on Christmas Day.

Inside his rucksack they found the large Kukri-style knife, described by police as a machete.

He had also been charged with driving whilst disqualified and drug driving on May 22, when he was caught behind the wheel of an uninsured car on the A338 Grove Road. He was two times the cannabis drug driving limit.

Rodrigues, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty on Monday afternoon to possession of a bladed article, driving whilst disqualified, drug driving and driving without insurance.

The magistrates remanded him in custody to be sentenced on January 17. A probation report was ordered.

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