A WHEELCHAIR-bound man who was caught with a homemade spear measuring more than two feet in length has been jailed.

Double leg amputee Danile Campbell — who also had a large kitchen knife — told police that the items were for his 'personal protection'.

Campbell, 39, taped a five-inch blade to the end of a 20-inch pole because he had bouts of drug-induced paranoia, Greenock Sheriff Court was told.

But the multiple offender, of Sharp Street in Gourock, says he never took the spear or the knife out with him, and had no intention of ever doing so.

Police arrested him after being called to the Inverclyde Centre homeless unit in Greenock, where Campbell had been staying at the time of the offences.

Prosecutor Saud Ul Hassan told the town's sheriff court: "The adapted weapon was lying on a bedside table that the accused was sitting at.

"It is described as a pole of 20 inches in length with a blade of five inches at one end and a piece of sponge taped to the other end to act as a handle.

"Police also observed on the same table a second black-handled kitchen knife of eight inches in length.

"Both of the items were seized by the police."

Mr Ul Hassan added: "The accused, explaining his position for having them, said that he becomes paranoid when withdrawing from drugs and he had made the first weapon for personal protection."

Defence lawyer Aidan Gallagher said: "Mr Campbell sees himself as an easy target for others, and hence he had these items in his room.

"They were never taken from his room, and nor did he intend to do so.

"He accepts that his record as a whole is one that he cannot be proud of."

Campbell pleaded guilty to breaching an anti-social behaviour order by having sharp implements. He committed the offence in April last year.

Solicitor Mr Gallagher added: "He is a double leg amputee and part of the reason for that is that he attempted to take his own life, jumping from a bridge.

"Thereafter issues arose, also due to his lifestyle, and the amputations resulted."

Sheriff Daniel Kelly said: "My view is that the only appropriate sentence is a significant period of custody.

"The ASBO was in place for a reason and these knives are just a flagrant breach of it."

Campbell was sentenced to ten months imprisonment.