A 6ft 4ins drug dealer spotted threatening another supplier with a hammer was tackled in the street by a 5ft 6ins female police superintendent.

Daniel Tilden was spotted wielding the weapon at a busy town centre roundabout by Supt Charlie Armstrong, who is in charge of the northern hub.

And when his car was searched after the senior officer tackled him he was found to have a nasty sheath knife and a large wood chopping axe.

But after hearing he was changing his life after moving away from bad influences to live in Swindon a judge imposed a suspended jail term.

Tom Wilkins, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court that Tilden was spotted by Supt Armstrong, who was in plain clothes, in Devizes on the afternoon of Thursday, September 17, 2015.

She saw the six footer arguing with someone, telling a shorter man he was going to kill him, before reaching into a car and producing the hammer.

"The officer stepped in to help restrain and detain the man. He is 6ft 4ins, the officer 5ft 6ins. He later swore at her," Mr Wilkins said.

"He said he kept the hammer in his glove box for protection. He said of the other man 'He might have had a knife or something'."

As well as the weapons in the car police also found 200g of cannabis in 12 packages with scales and small plastic bags as well as £512 in cash and a mobile phone.

Two months later he was stopped driving a BMW on Spitalcroft Road, Devizes, where he was again found with almost 4oz of cannabis.

He also had some pills of former legal high Alpha PVP along with 15 stolen Thomas the Tank Engine toys as well as £350 in cash

Mr Wilkins said in December last year police went to a road accident on the Avebury to Swindon road where the defendant had helped out.

When he was searched he was found to have a number of morphine pills and more in liquid form.

Tilden, of Faringdon Road, Swindon, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing drugs with intent to supply, two of possession, affray, handling stolen goods and having no insurance.

Michael Butt, defending, said that in the first incident the superintendent had not seen the build up to him getting the hammer.

He said the other man was a drug dealer who had threatened his client and he brandished the tool in self defence.

And he told the court that when he was caught with the morphine he stopped to help a family who were injured in the accident, which had also forced his car off the road.

Although he knew he shouldn't have had the morphine, which had been prescribed for someone else, he had it to treat toothache.

He said he had now moved to Swindon, where his parents own a house, to be away from bad influences in Devizes and was hoping to find work.

Passing sentence Recorder Vasanti Selvaratnam QC said: "I am of the opinion that the custodial sentence in your case is of the length that can be suspended."

She gave him two years suspended for 24 months, a drug rehabilitation requirement, 30 days of rehabilitation activity requirement and put seven points on his licence.