A BARMAN who tackled a man who was armed with a knife has spoken of his ordeal.

Dean Darbourne, 21, was clearing up inside The Royal Talbot pub on Duke Street, Lostwithiel after Halloween celebrations last year, when he heard a commotion outside.

Going to investigate he spotted Paul Clarricoats, 45, of North Street, Lostwithiel armed with a knife, chasing a screaming teenage girl down the street.

Mr Darbourne grabbed Clarricoats hand and the knife fell to the ground.

Speaking to the Cornish Guardian on Friday, Mr Darbourne said: "This girl was running down the hill and he was running after her with a knife.

Hindsight

"I got the knife from his hand, then someone kicked it into a drain.

"I didn't really stop and think about what I was doing – I just wanted to stop him."

Mr Darbourne, who is studying to be a music teacher at Plymouth University, said in hindsight his actions were not advisable.

"It was probably really stupid trying to tackle someone with a knife, but I didn't think about that at the time, I just wanted to stop him. I am pleased to hear about the sentence. "

Clarricoats, who claimed he'd been a victim of abuse by youths in Lostwithiel, was jailed for eight months at Truro Crown Court on Wednesday March 10, for being in possession of a knife in a public place.

He must serve consecutively 10 days of a 42-day suspended sentence imposed in February of last year for an identical offence.

Prosecutor Philip Lee said Clarricoats was seen looking agitated and staring at other people in the Royal Oak pub where he worked as a kitchen porter, in the early hours of November 1 last year and was asked to leave.

Minutes later a witness saw the defendant with the knife chasing a 17-year-old girl who was running away, screaming, crying and losing her shoes in the process.

Clarricoats was disarmed by Mr Darbourne and arrested.

Christopher Andrews, defending, said that although Clarricoats had previous convictions he had never been given the chance of probation.

It seemed that because of his presentation and lifestyle young people were picking on him.

Judge Christopher Elwen told Clarricoats that threatening people with the knife in a public place was far too serious for anything other than immediate custody.

Clarricoats had pleaded guilty to possessing the knife in public when he appeared before East Cornwall Magistrates' Court in Bodmin on February 5.

He also admitted being drunk and disorderly in the town on another occasion.

When Clarricoats was arrested police noted that he was drunk.

While on bail for that offence he was further arrested for being drunk and disorderly on December 28.

The court heard that the offences had been committed during a suspended prison sentence.