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Search forGardener receives in court apology
Saturday, October 11, 2008, 10:00
Peter Drew's ordeal began in February. He was on his way to work in his van when police stopped it and found a scythe, axes and knives inside.
Self-employed Mr Drew, 49, explained the items were for clearing rough ground but he was arrested on suspicion of having offensive weapons.
Minutes before the trial was due to start at Truro Crown Court this week, the CPS offered no evidence and withdrew the case.
Judge Paul Darlow said he wanted prosecution barrister Philip Lee to issue a public apology to Mr Drew and asked the CPS to do the same.
"I want to find out why we've got to the start of the trial and the CPS are suddenly saying 'Oops'.
"We despair of trying to run these courts in any sort of efficient way. Try telling this to jurors who come from their jobs and their homes, quite apart from any trauma that Mr Drew has been through."
Mr Lee replied: "On behalf of the CPS, I apologise that it has taken this long. Some decisions are very obvious and some less so. I wouldn't say this was an obvious decision."
Mr Drew, of Heamoor, near Penzance, Cornwall, had always denied having offensive weapons and had provided references from customers, including several solicitors.
Customers confirmed that they had seen him using the tools to cut back undergrowth.
He told how eight months of court appearances and the spectre of a trial hanging over him had affected his life.
"The whole thing knocked me for six. I've lived in Heamoor all my life and when the case was reported in the papers, people were asking me what it was all about," he said.
"I'm disgusted, really. Now I just want to clear my name so everyone knows I haven't been carrying knives illegally."
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said officers found a bread knife and a machete behind the sun visor of his van. Two axes in the driver's door pockets and a scythe in the passenger footwell were also found.
He added: "An officer might assume a professional gardener would keep his tools in a bag in the back of the van."
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