A FATHER-TO-BE caught with machetes in the boot of his car claimed he had been gardening.

Charlie Hulse denied two counts of possession of offensive weapons but was convicted at Basildon Crown Court and has been jailed.

Judge Andrew Hurst said: “Offences of this sort are always serious.

“If there’s one crime that has dominated the news, it’s the epidemic of knife crime in and around London.

“Young people are dying on our streets from knife-inflicted injuries.

“As soon as anyone is equipped with a blade, a tragedy is potentially at large - there’s no excuse. They are weapons.”

Hulse, 23, who is expecting his first child with his partner, was convicted after the weapons were found during a police stop in May last year.

Officers felt the vehicle was being driven erratically so pulled it over in Brennan Road, Tilbury, and after smelling cannabis in the car, conducted a search.

Although they did not find any drugs in the car, they found two machetes in the boot and Hulse was arrested and charged with two counts of possession of a knife in a public place.

Hulse, of Byron Gardens, Tilbury, denied the charges and stood trial at Basildon Crown Court where he told a jury he had been doing gardening work and was then taking them back to his parents.

The jury disbelieved his version of events and he was convicted.

Sentencing Hulse at Basildon Crown Court on Monday, July 22, Judge Hurst added: “Little seems to deter people from doing so and they are making our streets unsafe.

“The issue is can I suspend this sentence?

“The message has got to go out that anyone caught with a blade should think they are going to go to prison.

“Otherwise young men like you will think they can arm themselves with a blade.

“And if they find themselves in court and a jury disbelieves them, then not much will happen.

“The message has to go out and that’s why I’m going to impose an immediate custodial sentence.”

Judge Hurst handed Hulse, who was of previously good character, a four-month prison sentence in total for the offences.