A market stall operator who took an axe to a confrontation in a Tiverton car park has been spared jail so he can protect his wife from a stalker.
Kevin Jones, aged 32, escaped with a suspended sentence after a Judge at Exeter Crown Court watched CCTV footage which showed he had not used or brandished the weapon.
The former painter and decorator took the fearsome looking axe with him for protection when he went to meeting with a group of men at the Market Street car park by left it tucked into his trousers.
He was given the weapon as he walked to the car park and arrested after a worried taxi driver called the police after seeing what looked like developing into violence.
Father-of-four Jones, of Belmont Road, Tiverton, admitted having a bladed article in a public place and was jailed for six months, suspended for two years by Judge Phillip Wassall at Exeter Crown Court.
The judge said the offence would normally receive an immediate jail sentence but he was suspending it for a number of reasons.
One of these was a problem Jones' wife has reported to police with a stalker who has approached her while she has been out on her own.
Judge Wassell told Jones:"You took this axe to embolden yourself. You showed it to the other men but you had the opportunity to take it out when you were confronted but did not do so. You left it firmly concealed in your trousers.
"If you had taken it out, even to threaten somebody, this sentence would be immediate but the fact if that you showed a disinclination to do that.
"I also bear in mind the support which your wife and family need and that you have established your own business."
He warned Jones he should call the police if his wife has further problems with a stalker rather than risking any further violence. He told him if he arms himself with any weapon again he will go to jail.
Mr James Taghdissian, prosecuting, said the incident with the axe happened in Market Street Car Park in Tiverton in November last year, when police were called by a taxi driver.
He said CCTV images showed that Jones had opened up his coat to show that he had the axe but had not taken it out of the waistband of his trousers despite provocation from the other men. He then left it near public toilets as he walked away.
Miss Emily Cook, defending, said Jones has already addressed an alcohol problem with the help of his doctor and is turning his life around.
She said:"He and his wife have set up their own business after a long period of unemployment running a market stall four days a week.
"His wife has been stalked recently and this has been dealt with by the police but has necessitated him accompanying her when she goes out."
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