A “TOOLED UP” yob took a knife and a metal chain to confront a woman in a park.

Bradley Matthews took the weapons to Southgate Park in Crawley. He was seen on CCTV with the fold-up knife approaching a woman with whom he had an “on-off” intimate dalliance.

The 22-year-old was pushed away, and was arrested nearby. He claimed he had been duped to go there expecting a confrontation with other men.

At Hove Crown Court it was revealed Matthews has 28 convictions for 54 previous offences, including possession of a knuckle duster in 2013.

Judge Paul Tain jailed Matthews, and said other people in the park could have been put at risk.

Natasha Isaac, prosecuting, said the latest incident was on July 24 this year at 9.20pm. he said: “CCTV showed him with a fold-up knife in one hand an a metal chain in the other. He approached a woman, believed to be his ex, and is seen appearing to attack her. But that is before he was pushed away by another man there.”

Matthews retreated to a van which was stopped soon after by the police who found the weapons.

He appeared via video link where he admitted possessing the offensive weapon in public. ndrew Bullivant, defending, said Matthews had an on-off intimate relationship with the woman, but when he ended it she became “vindictive”. She made threats to him, and he believed he was going to the park to be met by four men who were “waiting for him”, Mr Bullivant said. The victim was unwilling to support the police prosecution.

Mr Bulivant said Matthews, of Oak Close, Bognor, was diagnosed with attention deficit and hyperactive disorder (ADHD) in 2010, but also may have undiagnosed mental health issues. He asked the judge to suspend a prison sentence to allow him to address the reasons why he commits crime.

Judge Tain disagreed and jailed Matthews for ten months. He cited a Court of Appeal ruling and said: “If you are out with a blade in your pocket, you are in trouble, if the blade is out of your pocket, you are in even more trouble, and if it then relates to prospective violence, then you are likely to go to prison. He goes to a playing field, where there is a risk of significant numbers of people potentially being vulnerable. It’s hard to accept that this is for a defensive purpose. He goes tooled up, and the inevitable consequence is that there would be a fight, a fight with a weapon, and that could lead to people being injured, or killed.”