Man jailed after threatening an ice cream lady with a three foot long Samurai sword while drunk and high on cocaine

Jamie Tickle, 24, of Central Drive, Haydock, was jailed today for two years, eight months, after pleading guilty to affray and making threats with a bladed article.

It follows the incident on Sunday, 1 July, when Tickle threatened an ice cream vendor with the sword at around 5.40pm in Station Road, Haydock.

Tickle approached the van armed with the sword and threatened the 34-year-old vendor Nuntaporn Watkinson while two children were also at the van at the same time.

No-one was injured but all were left shaken by their ordeal.

The court heard how Tickle, of Central Drive, Haydock, was drunk and had been taking cocaine when he got into the ice cream van.

In a victim impact statement, she said: "I had thoughts of being killed and never seeing my children again. My biggest fear was for the three children I'd been serving.

"I was terrified but had to try and prevent the attacker from going around to the hatch where the children were. I could hear the children screaming and crying."

Detective Constable Phil Poynton said: “We welcome the sentence of Tickle and hope this shows others that using a knife on our streets in totally unacceptable and we will not tolerate it. We will find you and you will be taken off our streets.

“The victim in this case was calm and collected throughout her ordeal and had the foresight to point her dash-cam to the offender. This action, and her bravery throughout, helped us to identify the offender and make sure he was brought to justice.

“The possession and use of knives has no place on Merseyside and we stand alongside our communities and partners in our commitment to doing all in our power to eradicate knife crime.”

Kate Gaskell, from Mersey-Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Jamie Tickle's actions left Mrs Watkinson and the children who witnessed the incident terrified and yet the reason why he did this is still unclear.