Wigan woman jailed after walking around town centre with a kitchen knife

A young Wigan woman has been jailed for six months after she was spotted in the town centre armed with a kitchen knife.
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A Bolton Crown Court judge sent Victoria Marsh to prison after Wigan’s central watch station was informed by a staff doorman at Harry's Bar on Wallgate stating that he has seen a female pull a knife from her jacket pocket.

The CCTV hub in turn called the police who went to the scene where they found Marsh. When asked she produced a kitchen knife blade with part of the handle missing and was arrested.

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The 22-year-old, of no fixed address, had already pleaded guilty to possessing a bladed article in a public place at a previous hearing before Wigan and Leigh magistrates, but because of the seriousness of the offence the bench had sent the case to a higher court for sentencing.

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It was stressed that no-one had come to any harm during the incident.

As well as the prison term, the judge also ordered that the knife be forfeited.

Possession of a knife in public currently carries a maximum sentence of four years.

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Last month, the Wigan Post revealed that more than two in five Greater Manchester knife criminals face an immediate prison term – one of the highest rates in England and Wales.

In 2018, 911 people were cautioned or convicted by Greater Manchester Police for possession of a knife or offensive weapon, or threatening with a knife, according to Ministry of Justice data.