A TEENAGER who was thrown out of a nightclub and returned brandishing a machete has been spared jail.

Ali Khaled Ali, then 18, was ejected from the venue in Nelson Square by bouncers in the early hours of Sunday, October 20.

However, after initially walking away he returned a short time later wielding a large knife which he claimed to have found behind some bins. But, when security staff from Level nightclub spotted the situation and rushed over he dropped the weapon and ran away.

Around an hour later the police were called to Nelson Square over a confrontation between two large gangs, with Ali spotted as part of one of the groups.

The Halliwell resident, now aged 19, appeared in Bolton Crown Court yesterday before Recorder Martin Walsh and was handed a suspended sentence of 12 months in a young offenders institution for possession of a bladed article.

“Possession of an item like this particularly in the town centre after drink has been consumed creates the very real possibility that harm could be caused.” the judge said.

“I have great suspicions about how you were in possession of the machete.”

Prosecuting, William Donnelly took the court through Ali’s actions on that evening.

“He was ejected from a nightclub that looks onto Nelson Square,” he explained.

“He ran off and a very short time later came back with a machete. He was challenged by door staff, dropped that machete and ran away.”

CCTV footage shown in court showed the teenager carrying the blade outside the club before bouncers appeared to run towards something.

Defence barrister Daniel Calder told the court that Ali claimed he did not know the machete was stashed in the area although he admitted to going to look behind the bins for a bottle to use as a weapon.

He explained that the young man had been through a turbulent upbringing, travelling through several war-torn countries before reaching England.

“He arrived in the UK aged 12 as a refugee,” he said.

“He endured an itinerant childhood, fleeing conflict zones in Iraq and Syria. His family moved to Jordan before threats to his family cause them to seek asylum in the UK. His father died when he was young and he lost his childhood best friend.

“He told the probation service that he had seen a lot of awful things which the court can no doubt imagine and he’s carried this with him for the rest of his life.”

Ali, who became a father January, had never had any previous convictions but was told that his 12-month sentence will come into force should he commit any other crimes.

He was also placed on a four-month curfew, meaning he must remain in his home in Boundary Gardens from 7pm until 6am, with an order to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and do 20 days of rehabilitation.

As Ali left the court, Mr Walsh gave him a final warning.

He said: “I want to make it absolutely crystal clear to you that you must comply with the probation with this order or you will be back here.”