David Bishop [2019] EWCA Crim 1798

The appellant pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon and threatening another with an offensive weapon. He was sentenced to consecutive sentences totalling 2 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.

The appellant was seen to approach a man and strike him on the head with a hammer. Another male tried to detain the appellant and was threatened with the hammer.

The main thrust of the appeal was that if the two sentences were to be consecutive, they should have been shorter.

Held: the offences were both aspects of the same incident, they ran so closely together that the proper course for the court was to impose a longer sentence than either individual offence merited but to have made that run concurrently on each sentence.

The sentence was quashed, and 16 months’ imprisonment imposed on each offence to run concurrently.