
Man arrested after being spotted lurking outside school carrying hammer, hatchet and knife
The deadly array was being carried by Both Douk Deng, 20, when he was arrested by police called to the scene.
He had been seen acting suspiciously outside Edgar Wood Academy secondary school in Middleton, Greater Manchester, on Wednesday.
Officers later searched his home which resulted in him being charged with further offences including criminal damage at another school — Holy Family RC and CE secondary in Middleton.
He appeared in court on Friday and pleaded guilty to all the charges against him.
Deng, who police said identified himself as South Sudanese, was accused of carrying the weapons on school premises and damaging school property, including a £500 intercom at Holy Family.
Both schools are closed for the summer holidays. It was believed no children were on either site at the time.
Deng's campaign of destruction continued when he caused £60-worth of damage to plant pots at Birch Business Park, Heywood.
He was charged with two counts each of criminal damage, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, and on school premises, and one count each of possession of a bladed article in a public place, and on a school premises.
A hammer, a hatchet and a kitchen knife were among the weapons named on the charge sheet.
Deng, who speaks Arabic, needed a translator to communicate with police and court officials.
He admitted the charges when he appeared at Manchester magistrates' court on Friday. He was remanded in custody to appear at Minshull Street crown court on September 5.
Shocking moment man armed with huge MACHETE lurks around children's playground as cops bid to find him
1
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Telegraph
5 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Hermer to decide on Palestine Action terror charges
Lord Hermer will be given the final say over whether to prosecute hundreds of protesters arrested for supporting Palestine Action. The Attorney General has the power to approve or block further action against the demonstrators under the Terrorism Act after they were caught carrying placards in support of a proscribed group. The Metropolitan Police said 532 people had been arrested at a demonstration in Westminster on Saturday that was designed to overwhelm the criminal justice system. All but one of the arrests took place on Parliament Square, where hundreds of protesters gathered carrying placards that read: 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.' The Met said the average age of those arrested was 54 and that more than 100 people hauled away by police were over 70. Officers arrested 263 men, 261 women and eight people who either defined themselves as non-binary or did not disclose their gender. The detained protesters included Moazzam Begg, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who was once accused of being a member of al-Qaeda. He was released from US custody in 2005 following pressure from the UK Government and later received a settlement after suing the British authorities for alleged complicity in his detention. Anyone found guilty of supporting or gathering support for a proscribed organisation faces a maximum of six months imprisonment and a possible £5,000 fine. Just being arrested is enough to stop someone travelling to the US or working in education. Charges brought under the Terrorism Act must first be approved by the Attorney General, acting in his capacity as the Government's most senior lawyer rather than in a political capacity. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, told The Telegraph: 'If lawbreakers supporting a prescribed terrorist group aren't prosecuted, it will be the clearest example yet of two-tier justice under Two-Tier Keir. 'Lord Hermer needs to enforce the law, not pander to activists he's sympathetic to.' All those arrested on Saturday were taken to a processing centre in the Westminster area before being bailed. The Met said the sheer number of people detained made it impossible to track whether anyone released on bail returned to Parliament Square to continue protesting. It is understood that the CPS has established a special unit to process files on Palestine Action protesters because of the number of arrests. Last week, the first three charges were brought in relation to supporting the group, which was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the Home Office in June after spray-painting an RAF transport aircraft at an air base in Oxfordshire. Protests in support of Palestine Action have been organised by Defend Our Juries, a campaign group that is trying to overturn the proscription with mass civil disobedience. A spokesman for Defend Our Juries said on Sunday that the number of arrests was an 'embarrassment for the Home Secretary, who must now justify this absurd waste of police resources' by bringing terror charges against people 'for holding a sign'. 'It's clear that ordinary people are refusing to be silenced by this authoritarian crackdown on our fundamental freedoms,' said the spokesman. 'The growing mass defiance shows this ban cannot be meaningfully enforced, and it will ultimately have to be scrapped.'


Telegraph
5 minutes ago
- Telegraph
The logistical challenge of Palestine Action
The arrest of over 500 protesters in London at the weekend for supporting the proscribed group Palestine Action poses a major logistical challenge for the courts. Thousands of cases are already stuck in a backlog that has built up since the pandemic, with trials often set for years ahead. In addition, the prisons are full to bursting, so much so that criminals are being let out even earlier than normal to free up places. If these demonstrations, ostensibly in favour of free speech, continue in the weeks ahead how will the system cope? There is an argument that Palestine Action should not have been designated a terror group in the first place. It does not conform to the usual description of an organisation intent on killing innocent people and forcing policy change through fear. There are many, mostly on the Left but not exclusively so, who consider the ban to have been excessive. But this issue was thrashed out in Parliament, where MPs and peers agreed with the Government's assertion that it met the criteria for proscription. This followed an attack that inflicted damage on two RAF aircraft. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, has said that PA is not 'non-violent' and that more information about its malign intentions would be revealed in future court cases. The fact remains that those who consider themselves martyrs for free speech are breaking the law and should suffer the consequences of doing so. Courts managed to act swiftly against rioters last summer following the Southport murders and can do so again. If they have to sit over August and round the clock, so be it; the logjams in the system must not be an excuse for law-breaking to go unpunished. Moreover, if the Government is serious (which we doubt) about removing foreign criminals the moment they are convicted that will free up spaces in our jails. To do that however, ministers will need to resile from Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights which allows criminals to stay even when the courts have ordered their deportation on the grounds that they have family in this country. Furthermore, will the offender's home country take them back and, if so, impose the punishment they faced in the UK or let them get away with criminal behaviour? The Government managed to extract some supportive headlines for its plan; but will it really see it through, or is this just the hot air of high summer?


Daily Mail
5 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Moment 'dine and dashers' run out of Indian restaurant without paying after feasting on £200 of curries, lamb chops and naan breads
This is the moment four 'dine and dashers' flee from an Indian restaurant with two waiters in hot pursuit. CCTV shows the group of men arriving at the Saffron in Northampton and being shown to their seats at 10.11pm on August 4. The diners then feasted on almost £200 of food, according to a bill posted by the restaurant on Facebook. The meal, which came to £197.30, included poppadoms, lamb chops, four chicken curries, three chicken chats and a selection of naans and chapatis. Video footage shared by the restaurant online from 10.58pm then shows three of the men waiting for their waiter to walk out of sight before getting to their feet. They walk slowly to the exit before sprinting out of the door once they realise they are being pursued by two of the restaurant's employees. In a warning to other local businesses posted on Facebook, the Saffron wrote: 'Last night at approximately 10:15 PM, four young men entered our restaurant, enjoyed a full meal, and left without paying. 'This kind of behaviour isn't just theft, it affects hardworking small businesses and our local community. 'We have reported the incident to the police, and footage has been handed over. We urge neighbouring businesses to stay alert. 'If you recognise these individuals or have any information, please contact us directly or report it to the police. Help us hold these people accountable, there's no place for this kind of behaviour in our community. 'Name and shame. let's protect each other.' The owners of Saffron told The Metro that the theft had a 'big impact' on the restaurant since business was down. She said: 'People go out for a quick smoke and then they do a runner, but this is the first time like this. 'We're an upmarket restaurant. There were young waiters around and they weren't sure what to do. 'We don't expect this from anybody running away when they had food. If they want food, if they ask us, we will give them something - free of charge.' Locals showed their support for the restaurant online, with many encouraging the owners to take a card as a desposit for all bookings. One user wrote: 'Looking at the bill they had no intention to know better at their age.' Another said: '4 entitled bottom feeders. I hope this comes back to bite them hard.' A third wrote: 'Take a credit card to open a tab or take pre payment, protect yourself!' Northamptonshire Police said: 'We are investigating this incident as a theft and anyone with any information as to who the males are should contact us on 101 quoting incident number 25000457718.'