Travelling man Melvyn Bird saw nothing wrong in carrying two knives at York Railway Station.

He used them for skinning rabbits for himself and his two dogs when on the road.

But the five-inch hunting knife on his belt alarmed a member of the public so much police arrested him.

Mr Bird, 50, occupation rover, of no fixed address, ended in the dock at York Crown Court with a judge, barristers, security and court officers in attendance to face trial by jury.

He pleaded not guilty to two charges of carrying a knife in public.

The jury heard prosecution evidence that one knife had been clearly visible as he sat drinking beer outside a caf on the station on August 11. A second had been in his rucksack.

Then Mr Bird told them he had had five knives on him, but the others had been too small for the police to add them to the charges.

He showed the jury pictures of the hut at a Wensleydale quarry near Leyburn where he has lived on and off for 15 years and explained how to skin a rabbit.

He said he had been changing trains at York on his way home at the end of a seven-day 100 mile trek across the North York Moors and along the coast from Whitby to Scarborough. During his journey he had used the knives to skin rabbits caught by his dogs.

The jury took just minutes to decide he had a reasonable excuse to carry the knives and acquitted him.

Judge Paul Hoffman said they had done so on "clear evidence".

But he warned Mr Bird: "If you take my advice, the next time you go travelling, you will put those knives somewhere safe. You have had your warning now. The police officer acted perfectly properly."

Mr Bird shouldered the rucksack that contains all he needs for his outdoor life and walked off home.

Updated: 09:15 Thursday, January 11, 2001