A primary school went into lockdown after a barefoot man from Loughborough showed up in the playground at hometime carrying two knives. But the "hippy" former pupil, Ethan Donnachie, when confronted by the head teacher, said that he had armed himself as he wanted to harvest a chicken-of-the-woods mushroom which he had spotted growing on the grounds.

The episode was said to have caused widespread panic amongst parents and staff, coming only weeks after Axel Rudakubana had stabbed four schoolchildren to death during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport. Handing the 22-year-old university student a suspended sentence, Judge David Swinnerton said: "This was within just a few short weeks of events in Southport, and one can easily understand the concerns of anyone seeing someone on a school premises carrying knives."

He added: "Your explanation seemed preposterous at first sight but, in fact, everything points to that being the case. Everything points to the fact, bizarre as it may be, that what you were doing was harvesting mushrooms from a tree.

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"I accept that that is what you were doing, and I sentence you on that basis. If I thought you were there because you were any threat or danger to the children, or adults for that matter, you would be receiving a very different sentence.

"It was extremely foolish. You should have realised what sort of reaction that can cause - particularly at that time, but at any time frankly. Knife crime normally results in immediate prison sentences.

"The harm that you caused and the fear you caused is compounded by the fact that it was almost time for the school to finish, when there would have been a lot of children and parents out in the street and grounds. I hope you feel suitably embarrassed by the fear that you caused through not thinking through how that was going to look and what the consequences of what you were doing were.

"In future, if you are foraging for mushrooms, stick to isolated woodland. This was foolishness rather than menacing. Learn a lesson from this and do not put yourself in this sort of position again. I think you will have learned from this. You are an intelligent young man."

Liverpool Crown Court heard today (Wednesday, February 26) how Donnachie entered the grounds of Malvern Primary School in Broadgreen, Liverpool, at around 3.15pm in September last year in possession of two large kitchen knives. Several mums and dads were present at "letting out time" and reported his behaviour to teachers.

Jonathan Keane, prosecuting, described how the school "began to put its lockdown procedure into place" as a result, with a text message being sent out to parents warning them of an "ongoing incident". Donnachie then left when asked to do so by the headmaster.

Police later traced the Loughborough University maths student to an address in nearby Malvern Avenue, where he told officers that he had left the eight-inch knives in the dishwasher. A small quantity of cannabis was seized upon his arrest.

In his police interview, Donnachie told detectives that he was a former Malvern Primary School pupil and had been walking towards Broadgreen Station when he "noticed a mushroom growing by a tree on the school grounds". He then returned in possession of the knives "in an effort to cultivate them".

Mr Keane said: "This appears to be something rather stupid rather than having any sinister undertones. The crown's position is that this is a person acting incredibly stupidly rather than having any deep-seated issues."

Donnachie, of Forest Road, has no previous convictions. Jack Sweeney, defending, told the court: "The head teacher approached the defendant and found him under a tree cutting mushrooms and placing them into a bag. He was very open with what his intentions were. Upon realising his error, he left the grounds when asked to.

"He is what one might call a hippy. He is a vegan. He is a forager. He was barefoot at the time of the offences. It is a somewhat bizarre account, but it is one which all of the evidence aligns with.

"Malvern Avenue is the street where his parents live and which he grew up on. He attended Malvern Primary School. He was almost too familiar with his surroundings.

"He was someone who was totally misguided about how serious this could have been. He has remained apologetic for his actions throughout the process. This was an oversight on his part."

Donacchie admitted two counts of possession of a bladed article on a school premises and possession of cannabis. He was handed a 12-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 16 days.

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