Failed asylum seeker took hatchet to school to ‘get Home Office’s attention’

A failed asylum seeker who approached a school armed with a hammer, a hatchet and a kitchen knife “to create a scene for attention” has been jailed for two years.

Douk Deng, a 21-year-old South Sudanese national, became “increasingly frustrated” that immigration authorities were not providing assistance with his attempt to stay in the UK.

Deng, who has applied for and been refused asylum on three occasions, wanted something dramatic to aid his cause, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

The jury heard that he was arrested after workmen confronted him on the premises of Edgar Wood Academy in Heywood, Greater Manchester, on Aug 6, last year.

A member of the public had raised the alarm earlier after Deng was seen “behaving oddly” in the street en route to the secondary school, holding a petrol can with a hammer tied to his belt.

Deng was “mumbling” as he walked a “full circuit” around the school, which was closed to pupils for the summer, the court was told.

Builders working on site became concerned and called police when Deng approached the building, but the 21-year-old was walking away from it by the time he was arrested.

‘He wanted attention, and he was in crisis’

Along with the hammer and hatchet, he was found to be in possession of a seven-inch kitchen knife, and a jerry can containing half a litre of petrol.

The previous day he had been seen allegedly “acting oddly” at another school, Holy Family RC and CofE College in Rochdale, also closed to pupils, where he kicked and damaged an intercom.

Sara Haque, defending, said: “He maintains that his actions were not motivated by any desire to injure or harm any person.

“This was a bizarre and compulsive act lacking in any type of maturity at a time when he was in deep distress, having left Sudan, and his family, in traumatic circumstances.

“He wanted attention and he was in crisis, but he was not motivated by hostility towards children, teachers or the wider public. There is no evidence that he threatened any individual.”

Deng, who has a wife and children, was placed in a house of multiple accommodation (HMO) on his arrival in the UK, the court was told.

Ms Haque said: “He found himself in a foreign country with very limited English and unable to work because of his immigration status. He believed and felt that no-one was listening to him and no-one was helping him.