A DAD charged with possession of a knuckle-duster told a court he picked it up while picking seashells with his daughter in Clacton.

Mitchell Walling, 24, is accused of keeping the weapon in his jacket and threatening to use it at the Moon and Starfish pub on Saturday, June 6.

Chelmsford Magistrates' Court heard on Wednesday how Walling, of Mayville Estate, Islington, said: “I've got something in my pocket and I'm not afraid to use it.”

Police attended the pub, searched Walling and found a knuckle-duster inside his jacket pocket.

Walling told officers he had found the knuckle-duster on the beach that morning when he was picking up seashells with his daughter and did not know where to put it.

Walling denies possessing an offensive weapon, and is due to stand trial on March 11 next year at Basildon Magistrates' Court.