Thug who chased man along Wakefield street with a machete told: 'It could have been a murder charge'

Scott Breedon got into an argument with the victim following accusations about stolen drugs. Leeds Crown Court heard they had all been drinking on July 19 at an address on Buckingham Court when the disagreement began to spiral at around 5pm.

Breedon and the man exchanged blows, prosecutor Jessica Strange said, and the victim was chased from the property, pursued by Breedon holding the sword, and accompanied by others, including a dog.

The victim said that Breedon swung the machete which hit his calf, but this was refuted by the defendant. He was caught on CCTV holding the sword, although the attack itself was not captured.

The 47-year-old was later arrested from the address, but gave no comments during his police interview. He was initially charged with Section 18 wounding with intent, which he denied. He later admitted a charge of affray, which was accepted by the Crown.

He has eight previous convictions for 20 offences. In mitigation, a probation report explained that Breedon, of Clarion Street, Wakefield, had struggled with crack cocaine, and had been drinking that day.

Judge Ray Singh gave him 20 months’ jail, suspended for two years, and told him that his admission of guilt had saved him from immediate custody.

He told him: “Your guilty plea means I can reduce your sentence by one-third (bringing it under the 24-month threshold for suspending a jail term).

"If you’ve got any mates out there committing offences, tell them that pleading guilty gives them a third off. I do not think people understand the powers that a judge has.

"You had a lethal weapon that could cause serious harm or injury. You could have been facing a murder charge. He was injured severely but the Crown can’t say who caused the injury. But you were part and parcel of what was going on.”

He also gave Breedon a nine-month drug abstinence requirement, a four-month alcohol abstinence requirement and 15 rehabilitation days.