Machete wielding Daventry man who threatened passersby while standing on car was "plainly unwell," judge rules

A Daventry man who "uncharacteristically" crashed his van before threatening passersby with a machete has been spared jail.

Kevin Carroll, of Browns Road, was first spotted during the incident in July this year driving erratically through a Daventry neighbourhood in a severely damaged Ford Transit.

Soon after, the 51-year-old crashed the silver van into another car and stranded his vehicle on top of a road side barrier.

When police arrived at the scene on Ashby Road, Carroll was reportedly jumping on top of another man's car and brandishing a machete.

Officers later learned the 51-year-old had saw fit to smash the windows of the car and threaten its owner, and had also briefly chased after a teenager who tried to film him on a mobile phone.

Northampton Crown Court heard at his sentencing yesterday (December 23) how the incident on Ashby Road came as a result of "breakdown" in Carroll's personal life that led to self-medicating with drugs and alcohol.

His Honour Judge David Herbert told the offender: "I can only hope this is the one and only time you appear at crown court.

"It's plain to see you were unwell at the time. But it was behaviour that would have been extremely frightening to people who saw it, including when you threatened the owner of the car."

Carroll was spared prison and instead handed a 12 month community order with 60 hours of unpaid work.