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A student with a knife lunged at a detective who had cornered him on a bus.

Detective Sergeant Andrew Hughes was hunting for Ryan Hall after he'd fled from his house when officers turned up to at his house with a search warrant.

DS Hughes stopped a bus to see if the driver if he'd seen anyone matching Hall's description, and he realised the catering student was on the vehicle.

"As the bus driver opened the doors, the officer saw Hall sitting directly behind the driver," prosecutor Sarah Badrawy told Mold crown court.

"He placed his hand on the defendant's arm and began to inform him that he was under arrest. However, at that point, the defendant reached down to his right side and revealed a silver knife with a five inch blade.

"The defendant raised the knife towards DS Hughes who, fearing he may be stabbed, stepped back."

He tried to keep hold of Hall but he managed to break free, shouting "f*** off" while lunging towards the officer in a threatening manner, holding the knife, which was pointing towards the officer's chest.

A witness had said they believed if DC Hughes had not moved so quickly, he would have been stabbed.

When Hall made off from the area of the bus, DS Hughes called for emergency assistance on his radio, informing his colleagues which way Hall had run off and warning them he he had been threatened with a knife.

"Officer Hughes continued to pursue the defendant on foot, at which point the defendant turned and again raised the knife towards the officer. This caused Officer Hughes to jump back a few feet," said Miss Badrawy.

Other officers found Hall, and he waved the knife in the air. The police shouted to him to put the knife down, but he put the blade to his neck and repeatedly attempted to cut his own throat by using a slicing motion several times.

Hall, of Hill Close in Penycae, Wrexham , admitted assaulting an emergency worker, and possessing the knife and he was sentenced to 27 weeks young offenders' institute.

He admitted possessing one indecent image of a child, and five extreme images dating back to when he was 16. He was given no separate sentence for those offences.

Judge Rhys Rowlands said that he had no previous convictions but had been cautioned in 2016 for a serious offence of a sexual nature.

The small number of images dated back two years when he was aged 16 or so.

But the most serious offences involved the knife and an assault on a police officer who held on to him despite fearing he would be stabbed, the judge said.

There were other people on the bus, he got away and the officer had shown "commendable courage" in pursuing him.

"Even after he was joined by other officers you continued to threaten with the knife, which had a serrated edge," he said.

But he then used it upon himself and caused injuries to his own neck.

He was on bail at the time.

Defending barrister Robert Edwards said that Hall suffered from depression after the death of his mother, and since that time he had struggled with day to day life. The way he coped was to self-harm.

He denied that he obtained any sexual gratification from the images, and when he received them at a young age, believed they were funny. With hindsight and maturity he appreciated that they were not and that there were victims behind the images.

Police had gone to his home in February because of concern over his welfare, and he'd fled when they got there.

When challenged by the officer he was in a blind panic and pulled out what he described as a butter knife.

What was in his mind was to get away to self-harm.

Hall had made an appointment with his GP for counselling over his mental health issues.

He had a flat, was studying catering in college and he had a job which gave him funds and some pride.

He was a young man not beyond help and Mr Edwards asked the court to draw back and impose a suspended sentence.