The article conveniently fails to mention whether it was sharp (extremely unlikely, the cheap steel used for these can’t really hold an edge), and even more conveniently crops out the tip of the “blade” so we can’t even see if it was pointed (also extremely unlikely, toys like this almost always have blunted tips).
This isn’t a weapon, it’s a toy. Sure, you could hurt someone with it, just like you could hurt someone with a baseball bat.
I reckon the police wanted to bust him for some other reason. The Master Sword was just their excuse.
I’m sure chief detective Ganon had a perfectly good reason. :)
His real crime was “Walking down the street whilst looking working class”.
Washington Post had a better picture: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/07/04/zelda-master-sword-jail-nuneaton/
I’m guessing it’s pretty much a letter opener. From a read, letter openers count, and many people are mocking the idea of a letter opener being included in such a ban.
The blade was only 6 inches that’s a master dagger at best lmao
Four months in prison for getting caught on CCTV fidgeting with a sheathed letter opener
The handle is just 4cm or about 1.5 inches, so a grown man can’t even hold it in his hand properly, it is clearly a kids toy. He may have used for role playing, although he called it a fidget toy?
But beware of the master claymore
dammit i said the same thing independently, but you were first by 12 hours. hats off to you, sir !
victim surcharge of £154.
WHAT VICTIM??? The article says nothing of him doing anything to others. To my knowledge he didn’t attack anyone. There’s no victim!
Good feckin point!
Four months of prison? It sounds like the man is disconnected from reality but hardly a real threat to society.
Seriously. I’ve seen letter openers more threatening than that “sword”. Was it dumb? Sure. Does he deserve a slap the wrist, absolutely. But prison?? No way. What the actual fuck?
The stupid thing is that the UK is literally running out of prison spaces currently so that we are considering letting long term prisioners out on licence early to free up room.
Yet apparently this man needs to have his life turned upsidedown in order to occupy one of those spaces for four months.
The cells are probably crammed full of cosplayers, student protestors and journalists. Remember that massive ruckus and manhunt for thee guy who was wandering around in a gimp suit making people feel uncomfortable?
“Our prisons have never been safer!”
It’s OK though because as soon as the prison guards turn their backs on him he will immediately escape on an eight inch paraglider.
gotta throw the book at him to get the numbers up so they look better when it comes to ignoring serious crime.
Bit draconian hey. I admit the whole thing was stupid but considering he didn’t hurt anyone with this toy or show intention to do so a fine alone would have been more than enough. 4 months prison? Wtf
It’s the UK. They used to just aim guys like this at Scotland.
I know people are reacting strongly, prob a large US contingent here and that’s understandable. It is a completely different world in the UK. The police don’t carry firearms (specialist response teams do) as they are just not as available to the general public. Knives or clubs/bats are the most common weapon encountered. Even in that context I too find the sentence pretty heavy on the face of it. The article was rubbish at giving anything other than rage-bait. It didn’t explain if there were circumstances of aggravation, does he have form (ie prior same or related offences), were there vulnerable people in the vicinity, which specific charge was he accused with (possessing or threatening with) did he plead guilty, were there mitigating factors that actually reduced his sentence as the mandatory minimum sentence for “threatening with a weapon” is six months, eg did he cooperate, is he a sole caregiver for someone at home etc.
Only thing I’ve walked away knowing is the author of the article seemed more interested in provoking outrage and upping their hit count than demonstrating any investigative nous or journalistic integrity.
Nobody called. It was seen on CCTV. So someone saw him playing with his lil’ master sword and decided to fuck him.
Sometimes, when I’m not careful, I end up with stupid, dangerous UK-legal pocket knives so I’m always going to be critical of your auth bullshit.
Have police there never heard of a “letter opener”? 🤔
There’s a reason “zero tolerance” is also called “zero intelligence”.
Have police there never heard of a “letter opener”? 🤔
At this point, a significant number of them are young enough to have never opened a letter in their lives, so possibly. But this is still extremely stupid.
That old man lying motherfucker…
In addition to the four months in prison, he was required to pay a victim surcharge of £154.
So not only was there no victim here but himself he is also now out of work for a minimum of 4 months he’s now out 154 bucks. Fuck this world. Like ya, I get that there is that law for a reason, so sure, maybe give him a fine or better yet community service and then let him be on his way. What they have done benefits no one at all and wastes local resources.
bucks
Quid. We gotta be respectful.
Just to be clear this was not in the US. Their weapons laws are way more restrictive then ours. Apparently he was brandishing it and approached police with it. Sounds like he is a moron.
It was 20 cm long. Or about the length of 2 toothpicks. ‘Brandishing’?
I think I need a box of these novelty toothpicks
That’s way longer. 20cm is the average blade length for chef’s knives. Over here in Germany, with way more liberal knife laws: Legal to own (duh) but also very much not legal to carry much less wield in public unless you have a good reason – like actually preparing food in public. You can transport that kind of thing without fanfare but transporting very much involves not having it at the ready.
Four months are still completely overkill, though. Impounding and maybe a week’s worth of fine (one day of disposable income == one day in prison here) if he was being stupid and careless but non-aggressive. Four months go way beyond “let this be a lesson” territory and very much into “the state is nuts and doesn’t make sense”. If you’re feeling poetic, how about some social hours in a charity store sorting donated fidget spinners.
That’s 20 cm including the hilt. Roughly 15 cm for the blade by itself. And about 1 cm thick. Most likely with no sharp edge to speak of, since it was a toy and I’m sure the dumbass police would have made a point of it if it had.
In other words, ‘wielding’ it in public is about as threatening as carrying a particularly stiff twig. Probably less, considering the size of the hilt.
15cm is still 3cm more than what’s allowed to carry without good reason. Replica or sharp doesn’t matter in this context because the question isn’t whether you could hurt someone but whether the public might worry you’re going to hurt someone. You could reasonably argue that it has toy colours and therefore doesn’t count as replica but looking at the image you’re relying a lot on goodwill, there.
Also, a particularly stiff twig is a blunt weapon. You’re not supposed to run around with broomsticks if you’re not doing any actual sweeping, either. Or hang out in an dim underpass with baseball bats unless you’re an actual baseball player and are waiting for the train to your game or something.
That’s what the article said 😂
it was only 15cm long. that’s at best a Master Dagger, not a master sword! still too long to be legal to carry out in public though.
It may be only a few centimeters, but you know what it could do if fully charged*.
(*I know, that’s what he said or something)
Some NotTheOnion type shit.
4 months in prison for having a novelty pocket knife
And for some reason the prisons are full…
I feel like he could have been let off with a fine and confiscation where if he would do it again or act provocatively the prison sentence would apply. 4 months in prison is a lot
A suspended prison sentence makes too much sense. Gotta teach this nerd a lesson.
At least it didn’t break in the middle of fighting a Lynel.
