Two schoolboys who set out for a party armed with a metal baseball bat, knife and axe were spared prison and a criminal record in Magistrates’ Court yesterday.Kenwell Pearman and Malik Wilson, both 16, who told police they were carrying the weapons for “protection”, were instead given two-year conditional discharges, with probation, by Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner.He warned the pair they should not consider the sentence a “slap on the wrist” and that any breach of their probation would be considered a serious matter.The court heard that police stopped Pearman and Wilson on a motorcycle on Montpelier Road and discovered that Wilson, the pillion passenger, was carrying a metal baseball bat.Nothing was found on Pearman but a search of the bike found a small hand axe and knife.Mr Warner said: “Pearman was asked to explain as he was the rider. He said ‘they are for my protection. We are going to a party’.”At an earlier court hearing, Wilson, of Middle Road, Southampton, pleaded guilty to possession of the bat and Pearman, of Happy Dale Road, Pembroke, admitted possession of the axe and knife.Mr Warner said possession of a bladed article carried a mandatory minimum three-year jail term and that the “draconian” sentence was aimed at dissuading young men from arming themselves and getting caught up in violence.He said as educated young men, Pearman and Wilson should have been well aware of the consequences of their actions, including potentially being barred from entering the US if they received a criminal conviction.But he agreed with duty defence counsel Simone Smith-Bean that a young offender could only be incarcerated where there was no alternative.Ms Smith-Bean said: “I think a probationary period would be advantageous for these boys and not a jail sentence.“Consider imposing a sentence that would assist the rehabilitation process, rather than hinder the rehabilitation process.”She pointed out that neither had any previous convictions, adding: “They are both remorseful, they both pleaded guilty. They indicated to the police that out of fear they carried these weapons.“Both of them made a very big mistake in relation to carrying these weapons.”She said both were CedarBridge Academy students but Pearman was “in the process of being put out of CedarBridge into another programme” due to an earlier newspaper article about the offences.Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Carrington Mahoney agreed that the defendants could be dealt with by way of probation, taking their age and clean records into account.Both boys apologised for wasting the court’s time but Mr Warner told them it wasn’t a waste as it gave an opportunity to make them understand the gravity of their offences and the fact that they would be jailed next time.“I’m not in the business of trying to frighten you all but I just want to make sure that you understand the seriousness of the situation,” he said.As part of his probation, Wilson must refrain from the use of controlled substances, submit for drug testing, be assessed for an anger management programme, complete any programmes deemed appropriate and keep to a 9pm to 6am curfew for the first six months.Pearman must submit to random urine analysis for drugs, be assessed for programmes for poor decision-making, anger management and violent offenders, keep away from individuals engaged in criminal activity, undergo a probation review every three months and abide by an 8pm to 6am curfew for the first six months.Mr Warner told the defendants to stay away from one another and ordered that their electronic monitoring ankle bracelets be removed.