FORMER Colchester schoolboy Darren Day was caught carrying a weapon that could cause severe injuries, a court heard.

The former Sir Charles Lucas pupil and Butlins Redcoat is accused of having a kubotan – a self-defence keychain – in public in Edinburgh, in December last year.

The 41-year-old denies the charge.

The trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard the kubotan could cause severe injury.

PC Liam Fitzpatrick, a lead trainer in officer safety with Lothian and Borders Police, said he had more than 30 years of experience in martial arts.

Neil Allan, prosecuting, asked him to look at an item he said was found “in the possession of a particular individual”.

Mr Fitzpatrick, 46, described it as a kubotan, seven to eight inches long, which would normally fit into a hand.

He said the kubotan was designed in the early Seventies and was first used for “close impact control” by Los Angeles police.

During the Eighties it was marketed as a self-defence tool and could be sold to members of the public, the court heard.

Asked what the tool could do in trained hands, Mr Fitzpatrick replied: “Worst-case scenario, I could kill someone with that.”

He said it was more difficult to say what an untrained person could do with it, but added: “It can cause severe injury, potentially.”

The witness demonstrated to the court how it could be used to strike someone, or used as a “flail” if keys were attached.

He later agreed with defence lawyer Bobby Frazer that a bunch of keys or a pen could have a similar effect if used in such a way.

He also agreed a standard kubotan can be bought “quite openly” through martial arts shops or magazines.

Day shot to stardom in the Eighties when he appeared in London’s West End, in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and his career as a TV presenter took off.

But he fell from grace after a string of failed relationships.

He started to rebuild his career by appearing on reality TV shows and in musicals around the country.

Day moved from Colchester to Cudworth, South Yorkshire. His mum, Anne Thorpe, lives in Stanway.

The trial continues.