A MUSIC promotor has been jailed after he was found armed with a knife after he fell asleep in a stranger’s driveway.

A worried resident in Cowick Lane, Exeter, called the police after being woken up by an alert from his doorbell camera at 3am and seeing a man in the garden outside his house.

He noticed that the intruder was armed with a knife when he checked the CCTV footage and self-employed impresario Nicholas Good was still carrying the weapon when police found him asleep in a neighbour’s driveway.

He was jailed at Exeter Crown Court because he fell foul of strict anti-knife crime laws which make immediate sentences mandatory for repeat offenders. He had previous conviction for possessing knives or a broken bottle dating back to 2012, 2014 and 2019.

Good, aged 58, of Ham Drive, Plymouth, admitted possession of a bladed article and was jailed for 24 weeks by Recorder Mr Mathew Turner.

He told him: 'You have a lengthy record of low level violence and drunken behaviour and it is pretty clear you were under the influence of alcohol on this occasion. There is a clear pattern of behaviour when you are disinhibited by drink.

'You are a person who is capable of keeping away from it for long periods of time, but when you relapse there is a danger of you committing offences.'

The judge said the sentence had to be immediate because Good had been offered an alcohol treatment programme in 2019 and he dropped out of it after a short time.

Miss Feleena Grosvenor, prosecuting, said a resident was woken by an alert from his Ring doorbell camera at 3.30 am on July 9 this year and saw an intruder in his drive.

He shouted at him to go away and he left. The home owner checked footage from the camera and called the police when he saw the man had a knife. Good was arrested with it while sleeping in a neighbouring garden.

Miss Pamela Calder, defending, said Good’s abuse of alcohol was intermittent but he had a problem with occasional binge drinking. He has been assessed as suitable for a mental health treatment requirement which would address the root cause of his repeated relapses.

She said Good is self-employed and organises bands and does particularly well when he is in work.