Mickey Sage was seen hiding his knife at Camberwell Green Pic: Metropolitan Police

A man who ran around Camberwell Green armed with a 10-inch knife looking for Muslims to stab has been jailed for two years and three months.

Mickey Sage, 24 appeared at Camberwell Green Magistrates Court on November 21 pleading guilty to a single count of threatening a person with a knife in a public place, accepting that it was religiously aggravated.

He told arresting officers: “I was out to kill a Muslim”, made several Islamophobic comments and claimed that “he would be a martyr for England and stab an imam in the neck”.

He had been arrested back in June after the police were called to Camberwell Green junction regarding a male pulling a knife out on people asking them if they were Muslim.

The police spoke to a few alarmed members of the public, and Sage matched their description of the man making the threats.

One witness told one of the officers that Sage had hid the knife nearby and a large 10-inch knife was recovered.

Sage was arrested for possession of an offensive weapon.

DC Samuel Cafferty from Southwark CID said: “Hate crime like this has no place in any society. Sage poses a very clear and present danger to members of the public, particularly the Muslim Community and I’m pleased that he now has plenty of time to consider his actions. Members of public confronted by Sage were not harmed but shaken by their ordeal and managed to get away from what could have been a very different ending.”

The Met have recognised the impact of hate crime on communities and the hidden nature of this crime, which remains largely under-reported.

To anyone who witnesses or suffers any hate of any type, should immediately report the incident so that action can be taken quickly to catch those responsible.

Hate crime can be reported through 999 in an emergency, by dialling 101 in a non-emergency, directly at a police station and through the MOPAC Hate Crime app.