An "absolutely mortal" man told officers "I'm a little bit psycho" after he was caught carrying an axe at a Metro station.
Jamie Graham, who has previous convictions for carrying weapons and knives, was seen by police holding the sharp tool behind his back as he spoke with members of the public at Tyne Dock station early one morning last month.
A court heard that a constable had to threaten the 26-year-old with a taser before he threw the axe onto the tracks and got down on his knees, Chronicle Live reports.
Graham, of no fixed abode, was arrested but told officers "I'm a little bot psycho" and "I'm only after one person", prosecutors said.
While being transported to custody, Graham, who has 59 offences on his record, also claimed "I will bang him with the axe, he threatened my mother", Newcastle Crown Court was told.
Graham, who has a previous conviction for carrying a weapon from 2015 and was jailed for having a knife in 2022, has now been put back behind bars for 14 months after he pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon.
Neil Pallister, prosecuting, said police received a 999 call at around 5.45am on April 5 this year about a man carrying an axe along Stanhope Road, in South Shields.
They then received further information that the male was at Tyne Dock Metro Station and an officer attended.
Mr Pallister continued: "The officer noticed that, on one of the platforms, the defendant was holding an axe behind his back and was speaking to members of public while holding the axe behind his back.
"Other officers were tasked to go to the location. The officer approached the defendant with his taser out. As he approached, he shouted "get on the floor" with the taser pointed at the defendant."
The court heard that Graham did as he was told after throwing the axe onto the train tracks. The weapon was recovered after Graham was arrested.
Mr Pallister added: "The defendant told officers he was a "little bit psycho" and "I'm only after one person".
While being transported to custody, he also said "I will bang him with the axe, he threatened my mother". Graham went on to make no comments in interview, Mr Pallister said.
Fiona Lamb, defending, told the court that Graham had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and was carrying the weapon after being threatened himself.
She added: "He can't recall making those comments to the police - he was, in his own words, absolutely mortal.
"Someone had come to his house with a machete and he had taken the axe in order to protect himself."
