A WINSFORD man pleaded not guilty in court today when he appeared on charges of entering Winsford Lifestyle Centre with a ‘nasty-looking axe’.

Police were called to the Lifestyle Centre on Friday to reports of a man wielding an axe.

Anthony Joseph Hill, 49, of Alexandra Square, was subsequently arrested and charged.

A Cheshire Police spokesman said: “At 4.50pm on Friday, November 10, officers were called to reports that a man was in possession of a knife at Winsford Lifestyle centre.

“Officers swiftly attended and arrested a 49-year-old man on suspicion of an offensive weapon.

“Anthony Joseph Hill, of Alexandra Square, Winsford, was subsequently charged with possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.”

Hill appeared in Crewe Magistrates Court today, where he entered a not guilty plea.

The court heard that the weapon allegedly recovered by police was a ‘multi-tool object with a nasty-looking axe on the end’.

Hill is set to appear back at Crewe Magistrates Court in January for trial.