A MAN found in possession of a craft knife blade when he was subjected to a 6am stop and search claimed he used it only to scrape out his crack pipe.

Blackburn magistrates heard Harry Patrick Macintosh was also in possession of a torch and a screwdriver but a charge of going equipped for theft was dropped.

Macintosh, 23, of Parklands View, Burnley, pleaded guilty to possessing a blade in a public place. He was jailed for 12 weeks for the offence and a 12 week suspended prison sentence activated to run concurrently.

Jonathan Taylor, defending, said his client used the blade to remove the residue from his crack pipe.

"The pipe gets blocked by the residue created when the crack is burned and it has to be scraped so he can continue to use the pipe," said Mr Taylor.

"He accepts he shouldn't have taken it with him when he went out of his house."