A man caught drink driving with a 16-inch machete has been jailed for three months.

Twenty-three year-old delivery truck driver Anthony Young admitted the offences, which he said were part and parcel of "a bad year".

Young told Magistrates' Court he accidentally burned down a portion of his house and had a close family member die in 2009.

Crown counsel Takiyah Burgess told Magistrates' Court Young was stopped by Police on South Road in Paget on November 27 after they noticed him driving erratically.

She said he was unsteady on his feet and dropped his motorcycle as he was questioned.

The officers arrested him on suspicion of impaired driving. A search at Hamilton Police Station found a 16-inch machete hidden in his pants.

Questioned by Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner on why he had the blade, Young replied: "For my protection, just in case someone came up on me in the wrong way.

"I would like to apologise for having the weapon on me but I didn't have it in public. It wasn't out in the open, they couldn't see it."

Said Mr. Warner: "You should never have been able to get into a Police car with a weapon."

Young replied: "I had handcuffs on. You can't swing a machete with handcuffs on – it's kinda hard."

Public possession of a bladed weapon carries a maximum three-year sentence.

Mr. Warner fined Young $1,000 for driving while impaired and $1,000 for using offensive words in addition to his prison sentence.