A MAN has avoided jail after racially abusing a police officer and wielding a hammer.

Paul Maylett, of Lyme Walk, Wilmslow, was given a suspended prison sentence at Stockport Magistrates Court on July 26.

The 40-year-old had denied being in possession of a hammer in Wilmslow on September 8, last year, but was convicted after a trial.

Maylett had pleaded not guilty to using racially aggravated threatening or abusive words towards a male police officer on the same day.

The defendant changed his plea to guilty on the day of the trial.

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Maylett was also convicted of using threatening, abusive words and behaviour with intent to cause fear against another person in Wilmslow on September 8, last year.

Magistrates imposed a custodial sentence because, they said, Maylett had committed ‘serious offences involving the use of a hammer and previous for racial offences’.

The bench suspended the sentence because magistrates were satisfied that ‘there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation within the community’.

The defendant was also re-sentenced for other previous offences.

The court heard that Maylett had threatened police officers and police staff in Middlewich on December 31, 2019, and had been given a conditional discharge.

On the same day, he damaged custody safety clothing belonging to Cheshire Police, worth £5,000.

Altogether, Maylett was given concurrent prison sentences totalling 24 weeks, suspended for 18 months.

The defendant was also fined £100 and ordered to pay £128 victim surcharge and £250 costs.

Magistrates granted permission for the £478 court penalty to be paid at a rate of £5 per week, starting on August 23.