ASYLUM SEEKER JAILED FOR TWO YEARS AFTER ATTENDING SCHOOL WITH WEAPONS

Both Douk Deng, a South Sudanese national aged 21, was sentenced to two years in prison at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court after attending Edgar Wood Academy in Heywood on 6 August carrying a hammer, hatchet, seven-inch kitchen knife and a jerry can containing half a litre of petrol. Deng had applied for and been refused asylum on three occasions. The court heard that the school was closed to pupils for the summer holiday when he arrived on the premises. Workmen confronted him and called the police; he was arrested as he walked away from the building.

A member of the public had earlier raised an alarm after observing Deng "behaving oddly" in the street near the school, holding a petrol can with a hammer tied to his belt. The court heard that Deng walked a "full circuit" around the building whilst "mumbling", scanning it before approaching, having travelled from elsewhere with the items. A day prior to the Edgar Wood Academy incident, he was spotted acting oddly at Holy Family RC and CE College in Rochdale, also closed to pupils for summer, where he kicked and damaged its intercom. His defence counsel stated that Deng maintained his actions were not motivated by desire to injure or harm any person, and that he sought "attention" whilst in crisis following his departure from Sudan.

Deng had applied for and been refused asylum on three occasions and reported feeling frustrated that immigration authorities were not providing assistance with his bid to stay and work in the UK. His legal representative noted that he arrived in the UK with very limited English, was placed in multiple occupancy housing, and was unable to work because of his immigration status. The defence submitted that he believed nobody was listening to him or helping him.