Portsmouth man seen knife-fighting in Buckland and throwing weapon over wall to hide it from police jailed

Neil Gary Braithwaite, of no fixed address in Portsmouth, has been put behind bars following two weapon related incidents. The 57-year-old was spotted in the early hours June 16, 2024, being involved in a fight where a blade was involved in Victoria Street.

Police officers rushed to the scene but the group left by the time they arrived. No one was hurt during the altercation. Braithwaite was seen carrying a knife on CCTV cameras set up in the area. He was then spotted in Fratton Road, Fratton, on July 19, 2024.

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As officers tried to arrest him, Braithwaite hurled a kitchen knife he was carrying over a wall. He was charged and admitted to two counts of possession of a knife in a public place at Portsmouth Crown Court today (Tuesday 7 January). Braithwaite was handed a 20 month prison sentence.

Police Constable Tony Percival, a Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary officer on the case, said: “This sentence sends a clear message that we will not tolerate knife-related or violent crime in Portsmouth. We work tirelessly to keep our communities safe and will relentlessly pursue those people that we believe to be carrying knives as weapons in the city.

“A key focus of our work is prevention and working with individuals to divert them away from violence and carrying knives. There are permanent knife surrender bins at the Eastern Police Investigation Centre and Portsmouth Central Police Station. Thankfully in this case no-one was seriously hurt and we have secured an outcome where a regular knife-carrier is no longer on our streets.”