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Binman attacked with bayonet for not collecting recycling

A man who stabbed a binman with a bayonet after losing his temper because his recycling had not collected has been jailed for more than two years.

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The defendant has been jailed for more than two years

James Keates wielded the weapon, a family heirloom, outside his girlfriend's Walsall home after the bin was not emptied for the second time in succession.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that the 26-year-old had brought the bayonet, a wartime momento believed to have belonged to his great-grandfather, to his partner's home.

Mr Paul Sprat, prosecuting, said that on May 15 this year binmen were on their rounds in Walsall collecting waste but had left his girlfriend's recycling because it was mixed with household waste.

Two weeks later, when the bin was again not collected, Keates confronted one of the binmen, holding what was described as 'the remains of a bayonet' and threatened to kill him. The binman raised his arms to protect himself but Keates caught him on the head.

The victim was not seriously injured but was off work for a short while to recover from the attack, the court heard.

Mr Andrew Tucker, defending, said the defendant had 'a lot of pent up negative emotion' possibly caused by his failed attempt to save his father's life after he had fallen into the canal.

Keates had dived in to rescue his father, retrieving the body from the water but had been unable to resuscitate him, the court heard.

"This could in some way have contributed to his feelings prior to the incident and meant that he was predisposed to violence," said Mr Tucker.

"My client has said that this has had a long-term effect on him and is something he is continuing to struggle to get over. It has left him with depression and pent-up frustration.

"He had previously tried to make a telephone complaint to the local authority about the bins. On this occasion the binmen had said that they thought the recycling bin had been contaminated with household waste."

He added the bayonet dated from either the First or Second World War.

Keates, of Valley Road, Blakenall, Walsall, pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm, possession of a weapon and making threats to kill.

Jailing him for 26 months, Judge Amjad Nawaz told him: "You used a nasty instrument in order to attack someone who was simply doing their job."

He said a prison sentence was necessary 'if nothing else than to deter others from this sort of behaviour against public service employees."

Councillor Chris Jones, portfolio holder for waste collection, said: "I was shocked and saddened that public servants just out doing their job could have been so violently threatened. A custodial sentence seems appropriate.

"Although not seriously injured in the incident, the waste collector concerned was of course badly shaken as were the rest of the three-man crew. The individual who was attacked took a short period of time off work to recover.

“We take the health and personal safety of our staff extremely seriously and all violent and aggressive incidents will continue to be reported to the police as a matter of course.”

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