A LETHAL concoction of bleach and ammonia was created by 20-year-old Liam Wright in a bid to protect himself from assault, and he hid it in a Vicks Sinex spray bottle.

“He only took it out when he went out on his own in the dark, in case he was jumped on,” magistrates were told by his solicitor Ruth Johnson this week.

“If that happened he would have squired the solution, he had it for his own protection. He had kept the bottle for about a year.”

Wright - who lives in Misbehaving House at Walpole St Andrew - admitted possessing an offensive weapon. He also admitted assaulting a friend outside Wisbech Jobcentre.

Prosecuting at Wisbech courthouse, Nicola Rice said police found Wright walking along the A505 at Royston on August 19; and he was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a man in Wisbech.

“When he was taken into custody the Vicks bottle was bundled up with his other property, he immediately alerted officers to what the bottle contained, in case they got any of the solution on them,” explained his solicitor Miss Johnson. “The officers commended him for his honesty, they had never known an individual to be so forthcoming and honest.”

Wright had committed the assault offence on May 18, he punched a friend on the nose, leaving him with a 3cm cut that needed two stitches.

Police had failed to find Wright after the attack, but officers discovered he was wanted for the offence when he was found on the A505 three months later.

Miss Johnson said Wright was about to start work, his partner was pregnant, and the couple were about to move into their first home.

He was ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work, pay �50 compensation to his victim, and pay �85 costs.