A young man who was stabbed in the hand when he went to retrieve his stolen bike has been spared prison after he was convicted of holding a large butcher-style knife in a residential area in Newtown.

Curtis Jefferies, 24, was found guilty of possessing the knife following a trial at Welshpool Magistrates' Court in October.

The Newtown man, who has learning difficulties, had been caught on CCTV footage holding the six to eight-inch knife and an ice scraper late on Tuesday morning, July 7, before handing himself into the police station with an appropriate adult.

Prosecutor Helen Tench told the court on Tuesday, November 26, that there had been an altercation with others that had the "potential for serious injuries or a fatality".

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She added that Jefferies, who was in breach of a suspended six-month prison sentence for breaking a woman's nose, was "clearly" seen holding a knife in his right hand with the blade pointing outwards and that shouting was heard.

In mitigation, Jefferies' solicitor Gurleen Kaur told the court: "For 95 per cent of the incident, he is the victim here. He was attacked with a knife and stabbed in the hand. That person has been dealt with in respect of that offending.

"When he was stabbed, he picked the knife up to prevent further crime taking place. He held it for six minutes before he attended probation and complied by handing himself to the police.

"The facts are that there was potential for serious disorder. He was there preventing further offences by taking charge of the knife from the original offenders.

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"When you look at Curtis' offending, he played a very minor part and was, in fact, a victim of the original offending and was trying to prevent further crime. He had the knife for merely six minutes. His argument at trial was reasonable excuse.

"Curtis has suffered significant mental health issues from a young age and as a consequence he struggles to deal with emotions. This incident happened because his bike had been stolen and he wanted to retrieve his bike. He has an emotional attachment to this bike. It's simply a way of processing his own emotions.

"Curtis has made significant attempts to gain employment and is in the process of gaining employment with a caring responsibility.

"Also, Curtis has a pre-op for a hernia which he has been waiting a significant period of time and has only recently been given this opportunity. I ask your worships to consider whether a custodial sentence would be appropriate in these circumstances."

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Ms Kaur explained that it would be "unjust" to activate Jefferies' suspended sentence after he had complied with unpaid work and had a "very positive" relationship with the probation service who wanted to continue working with the 24-year-old.

"Mr Jefferies says his family are his support system, " Ms Kaur said.

"They are making sure he is complying with probation and attending appointments. He also has a seven-month-old puppy that he is emotionally attached to.

"With such as large support system in the community, I would ask your worships not to activate his sentence."

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Magistrates decided not to send Jefferies, of Lôn Glanyrafon, Vaynor, to prison but the suspended sentence would continue with an extra 40 hours of unpaid work.

He was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work, 20 rehabilitation requirement days and 35 intervention sessions by the probation service for possessing the knife.

Chair of the magistrates' bench Anthony Jackson told Jefferies that they were giving him a "big chance" to prove to the court that he can change.

"Mr Jefferies, I don’t know how many chances one person can have but we have taken into account the mitigating factors; the theft of your bike, your age.

"You’re not fully mature. You have a lot of growing to go as a 24-year-old. We know that you have learning difficulties and conditions.

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"We also appreciate that your family are surrounding you now and we respect and thank them for that. Without their efforts I suspect we would be having a different conversation.

"It is important that you have to get yourself out of this rut. This is your fourth appearance or offence in less than two years.

"We appreciate that you come from a difficult and deprived background.

"We also note the prospect of work coming your way.

"But you need to make a difference to yourself now. Rely on your family and complete this without further offences.

"We are giving you a chance, a big chance. Don’t blow it. Don’t come back."