A MAN caught with a knuckle duster and a flick knife has been spared jail.

Christopher Steven, of Batts Bridge Road, Piltdown, near Uckfield, was caught with the weapons in Bell Farm Road, Uckfield, on August 30.

Stricter punishments for those caught with knives and weapons were introduced by David Cameron in 2015.

Under the “two strikes” system, anyone aged 16 and over who is convicted of a second or subsequent offence of possession of a knife or offensive weapon faces a minimum six months in jail.

Steven, 21, who admitted possessing the weapons in public as well as possession of a class B drug was given 150 hours of unpaid work by Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

The latest figures released last week showed more young people were cautioned or sentenced for carrying knives than at any time for five years.

More than 450 people were cautioned or sentenced for knife crimes in Sussex in 2017, up from 388 last year and 348 in 2015.