Golfers held at knifepoint

A DRUNKEN man who held three Redditch golfers at knifepoint on the fourth tee of a south Warwickshire course has been jailed for 12 months.

And a judge at Warwick Crown Court told Andrew Hudson it would have been longer if his victims had not felt some compassion towards him because of his "pitiful state" at the time.

Hudson, 47, of no fixed address, had pleaded guilty to a charge of affray - and was formally found not guilty of a more serious allegation of attempted robbery, which he denied.

Neil Bannister, prosecuting, said that on August 6 Michael Rolls, Stephen Hunter and Stuart Newland were enjoying an afternoon game of golf at the Henley-in-Arden Golf Club.

The three, all from the Redditch area, were approached by Hudson, who appeared to be in a dishevelled state.

He was holding a knife and pointed it at them as he demanded £3 but was told they had no money on them.

"The defendant became more threatening and moved the knife towards Mr Rolls, saying, 'Give us some money or I'll kill you'," said Mr Bannister.

Mr Rolls was holding a club and indicated he would defend himself with it if Hudson tried to attack him, while Mr Newland also armed himself by taking a club out of his bag.

Meanwhile Mr Hunter took the opportunity of Hudson's attention being on Mr Rolls to move away and use his mobile phone to call police.

"Mr Rolls showed remarkable presence of mind and entered into some negotiations with the defendant to get him to back off a bit, which he did."

Persuaded by Mr Rolls, Hudson sat down and began to pour out his personal problems to the golfers.

But he became agitated again when police arrived and told officers to keep back.

He was still holding the knife and waving it about and, at one point, put the blade to his own neck as officers negotiated with him for 20 minutes to get him to drop it before they were able to overpower him.

When he was later questioned, Hudson said he had an alcohol dependency and had no recollection of the incident.

John Price, defending, said of the golfers: "They were mature men who knew how to deal with the situation and felt some compassion towards him. They are to be commended for their fortitude in continuing their game afterwards."

He said Hudson, who had no previous convictions for violence, was a loner who had had a breakdown.

He got drunk and behaved in a way he had never done before.

Mr Price added Hudson had been in prison on remand for the equivalent of a five-month sentence.

Jailing Hudson, Judge James Pyke said: "Patently there has to be a custodial sentence. But for your plea and the fact your own victims regard you as having been in a pitiful state that day, it would have been longer."