A HOLIDAYMAKER was caught with a stash of weapons in his suitcase at Bristol Airport.

Liam Dimond, aged 20, was found with a nunchuck and stun gun as well as eight other weapons on August 28.

He was stopped by airport security staff when he arrived on British soil following a break with his parents in Bulgaria.

Officers also found two flick knives, two throwing stars, two knuckle dusters and two telescopic friction lock batons in his case.

Dimond pleaded guilty to nine counts of possessing an offensive weapon and one count of possessing an electrical incapacitation device when he appeared at North Somerset Courthouse on October 18.

Henrietta Paget, prosecuting, said Dimond told police he had bought the weapons abroad, without realising they were prohibited, and intended to decorate his room with them.

Magistrates also heard that Dimond, from Bristol, had twice been convicted of assault by battery.

Owen Strickland, defending, told the court: “He has no previous matters relating to this sort of offence.

“He has always had an interest in films on the computer and TV which relate to this sort of thing.

“Whilst he was there he saw he could buy some of these things and it was his intention to decorate his room with them.”

A letter was handed to magistrates written by Dimond’s employer which, Mr Strickland said, described him as a ‘worthwhile and vital employee’.

He added: “There is no evidence of any danger that he would have used these items in any public place at all. “They were not dangerous in the way they were used on this occasion and the way they were in his possession.

“It is not as if he went into a club with a knife on him or something of that nature.”

Magistrates decided to hand the case over to Bristol Crown Court for sentencing on November 8. Dimond was granted unconditional bail.