Shropshire prisoner with 'machete' under bed was worried inmates would learn of 'racist' history
A prisoner who had a 'machete-style' blade hidden under his mattress was worried inmates would learn of his "racist" history.
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Benjamin Lawless, aged 31, had the two-foot long, sharpened, metal weapon in his cell at Stoke Heath Prison on January 21 this year.
He claimed he was looking after it for someone who threatened to out him over his history with the far-right English Defence League.
Shrewsbury Crown Court heard how prison officers received intelligence that he had a blade, so searched his cell while he was at the chapel. The weapon was found and he later surrendered a sharpened metal bolt to a female officer.
Lawless, who is now at Dovegate Prison in Uttoxeter, pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorised possession of a knife or other weapon in prison. He has 24 previous convictions for 45 offences.
