A VICTIM of a foiled robbery was so terrified of his assailant he carried a CS gas canister in self-defence, York magistrates heard.

John Peter Barlow, 28, was in "extreme fear of his life," and received warnings through "friends of friends" months after the attack, said his solicitor, Lee Goodchild.

So when he found a CS gas canister after a wedding party had spilled over into violence, he took it and carried it about with him.

Steven Ovenden, prosecuting, said police had stopped Barlow and another person, and when they asked if either man had anything they shouldn't, Barlow immediately showed the gas canister.

Barlow, of Gillygate, York, pleaded guilty to possessing the CS gas canister without a licence, an offence under the Firearms Act.

Magistrates ordered him to carry out 80 hours' community punishment and pay £60 costs. He has a previous conviction for carrying a weapon and was jailed in November 2000 for dishonesty.

Mr Goodchild said the assailant has convictions for violence for which he has served jail terms.

In the months after the foiled robbery, Barlow kept out of the other man's way as much as possible.

In May, Barlow was passing when a wedding party turned violent and "streamed into the streets of York". He found the canister and kept it for self-defence.

"He had no intention whatsoever to use it for any other purpose than defence in a life or death situation which is what he saw himself in," said Mr Goodchild.

Updated: 11:42 Thursday, August 09, 2001