A school cleaner was caught with a knife, stun gun and two different sorts of drugs in the locker room of a North Devon community college.
Jason O'Hara Tucker was searched after colleagues became worried about his disoriented behaviour and found with the weapons and drugs at Pilton Community College in Barnstaple.
He escaped jail after a Judge heard how he had no intention of using the weapons, which were inside a rucksack which he left locked up while he was at work.
The amateur musician had withdrawn into a world of his own and abused drugs to cope with the trauma of losing a young child 11 years ago, Exeter Crown Court was told.
He only started work after most of the students had gone home but there were still children on the campus when he was arrested including 70 rehearsing for a school play.
Tucker, aged 43, of Sunflower Road, Barnstaple, admitted possession of a stun gun, a lock knife, cannabis and amphetamines and was jailed for 15 months, suspended for two years and ordered to receive drug rehabilitation as part of a year's supervision.
Recorder Mr Malcolm Gibney told him:"Anyone who takes weapons into a school can expect immediate custody. I am only taking this exceptional course because I am satisfied the weapons were never intended to be used and there was no likelihood they would come into the possession of anyone else at the college.
"You are a man who suffered particularly from the death of a very young child 11 years ago and this has had an impact on your life ever since.
"I am told you are an introverted and distracted individual with no history of violent behaviour but irrespective of your personal grief or tragedy, you cannot act in a way which puts young people at risk by possessing these articles."
Miss Janice Eagles, prosecuting, said police were called to the college in January after a supervisor reported Tucker to the vice principle because she was worried about his behaviour.
A small packet of white powder was seen inside his bag and officers later found the taser, which was disguised as a mobile phone, a lock knife, and a small amount of cannabis.
They found three more bags of cannabis worth more than £1,000 at his home, which he had bought for his own use.
He told police he intended to keep all the items inside his bag, which he was in the process of putting into a locker when he was intercepted.
Miss Eagles said Tucker was based in the drama block where 70 students were rehearsing a school play at the time.
Mr Richard Crabb, defending, said Tucker had withdrawn into a solitary life after the tragedy 11 years ago and was living in a shared house.
He said he lost his job at the school after ten years of work and now hopes to make a living teaching guitar or as a driver.
He said:"The items were all in his bag in a locker and were never going to be used to harm or threaten anybody. There is no way in which they could have impacted on the pupils."
He said the stun gun was not charged and Tucker thought he may need to use the knife to remove chewing gum from carpets as part of his work.
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