A WOMAN caught with a nasty hybrid between a knife and a knuckleduster has been told she is facing a custodial sentence.

Police stopped Linda Franklin in Hawthorn Avenue, Colchester, on Monday initially believing she was in possession of drugs.

When they asked if she had anything which could potentially harm officers, Franklin admitted to police she had the weapon.

The 38-year-old was subsequently arrested.

During a Colchester Magistrates' Court hearing the next day, she admitted possession of the weapon.

As Franklin, of Stanley Wooster Way, Colchester, has a previous conviction for threatening somebody with a bladed article in 2017, she faces a mandatory six month prison sentence.

The bench decided they did not have the jurisdiction to deal with the case as as their sentencing powers were the minimum likely to be handed out at the higher court.

They remanded Franklin in custody until a sentencing hearing at Ipswich Crown Court next month.

Chairman of the bench Martin Stuchfield said: "This is a second strike which means it is beyond our sentencing powers.

"I regret to inform you we are going to remand you in custody on the basis you have previous convictions for failing to surrender to court and the sentence you are likely to receive."