A teenager who admitted to having a 14-inch machete tucked into the waistband of his pants was sentenced to two years' probation.

TheWarwick resident, who cannot be named because he is a minor, was found with the blade at Ice Queen in Paget after a person alerted him to Police.

According to Crown counsel Auralee Cassidy, Police responded to the report straight away, but as they arrived the defendant was on a bike getting ready to leave the property.

They stopped and searched him and found the machete in the waistline of his pants.

In Youth Court the teenager was asked why he was carrying around the weapon. He responded: "I don't know I just did."

Magistrate Tyrone Chin told the defendant: "I carry a pen when I want to use it. Why does one carry a machete at 2.30 a.m. in the morning?"

In addition to probation, he sentenced the defendant to five conditions, including a curfew from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily, random drug testing and that he not associate with known bad people. Mr. Chin said: "We want him to be a productive, happy and useful member of society. But there is an old Bermudian saying 'show me your friends and I'll show you who you are'. "

Probation officer Paul York urged the teen to stay on the right path: "I would just recommend that he learn from this experience. You know you have the potential in school so let's take it to the next level."