Many video game enthusiasts appreciate the novelty of owning replica weapons brandished by their favourite characters, but one U.K. man is facing jail time for carrying a copy of a Legend of Zelda sword in public.
Police in the county of Warwickshire said they arrested 48-year-old Anthony Bray in the town of Nuneaton on June 8 when he was seen on CCTV carrying a replica “master sword” from the popular video game series.
Bray carried the six-inch blade inside a blue and gold sheath that could release the weapon with the press of a button. On Tuesday, the Warwickshire Police Department announced Bray has been sentenced to four months in prison for carrying the sword through public streets and the town centre.
The authority claimed Bray “approached officers with the item in his hand visible,” leading to his arrest.
Bray told police the sword, which he purchased online, was a “fidget,” a catch-all term for devices, often similar to toys, designed to keep a user’s hands busy.
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“Officers tried to explain to Bray that, despite its intended purpose, it was in fact a sharply pointed item which could be used as a weapon and might put others in fear of it being used against them,” the Warwickshire Police wrote in a news release.
Bray told officers that though the sword could possibly be perceived as threatening by others, he had no intention to use it as a weapon.
He was sentenced on June 28 and was required to pay a victims’ surcharge of £154 (about C$270).
“We take a zero tolerance to bladed articles in public, and Bray has fallen afoul of this,” Sgt. Fern Spellman said. “It is possible to find fidget toys that aren’t six-inch blades. It is possible not to walk down the street holding them out in front of you.”
Spellman said Bray could have avoided the entire instance “with a bit more self-awareness.”
The U.K. has in recent years launched several initiatives and a national crackdown to mitigate the rate of knife violence in England and Wales.
According to the U.K. Parliament, there were around 50,500 offences involving a “sharp instrument” in the country last year, ending in March 2023. This was a 4.7 per cent leap from the year prior.
It is, however, legal to own a replica sword in the U.K., provided the owner is above the age of 18. The swords must be kept in the owner’s home and cannot be brought out in public without a valid reason, such as going to and from an event in which the sword would be used as a prop in a sport or re-enactment. The sword must remain fully covered during travel.
The U.K. forbids the sale and import of several blades and weapons, including butterfly knives, stealth knives and swords with a curved blade over 50 centimetres (excluding antiques made before 1954).
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