A 'MIXED up kid' who brandished a knife in the town centre while on a community order for a similar matter has been spared an immediate jail term.

Jake Bolt was due to get a mandatory six month jail term for pulling the blade on a man he thought wanted to fight him while extremely drunk in the early afternoon.

But after hearing the 19-year-old's previous matter came when he asked passers-by to call police to protect him from himself a judge said it would be unjust to jail him.

Andrew Stone, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court how the latest incident took place in the town centre on Friday February 24.

Early in the afternoon Bolt, who had a plastic handled knife with a three inch blade, approached a stranger in the street.

He said words to the effect “Look at this. Do you know the Bridgwater lot. We should shank them and stab them up.”

Bolt, who had drunk two litres of cider and a bottle of vodka gold, then approached a group of lads, including an acquaintance called Lee Gillett, at around 2.20pm.

"There was already ill feeling between these two men. Mr Bolt said in interview that he thought Mr Gillett wanted to fight him," Mr Stone said.

"Upon encountering Mr Gillett, Mr Bolt took out his knife and he pointed it towards Mr Gillett.

"He was adamant he would not have used the knife but Mr Bolt admitted in his probation interview that he wanted to scare Mr Gillett."

When police attended soon after he co-operated with them and fully admitted what he had done saying “I want to be boxer. I may carry a knife but I am no harm to anyone.”

Mr Stone said a year ago he was living in Bridgwater when, again drunk, he stopped passers-by to show them the handle of a bread knife he had in his trousers.

"He asked them to report him because he feared that he was a danger more to himself. He went home, that is where he was arrested," he said.

Bolt, of Pinehurst Road, admitted possessing a bladed article in a public place.

Rob Ross, defending, said his client had been remanded in custody since his arrest meaning he had served the equivalent of about a six month sentence.

He said he is 'a vulnerable young man,' who had bereavement issues after the death of his sister, learning difficulties and an IQ of 64.

"We are dealing with, to use a very unintelligent phrase, a very mixed up young man, a very mixed up kid," he said.

Although he had a poor history of complying with community orders, he said the time behind bars had been a short sharp shock.

Passing sentence Recorder Jamie Townsend said "Having read all about you, the doctor who saw you produced a full report, he talks about your family and the problems you have had.

"Having read that I don't think you are someone who goes out thinking you are going to deliberately hurt someone.

"What you do is you go out and get drunk, you stupidly take a knife out and you wave it about.

"The problem with that is that sooner or later someone, or you, are going to get seriously hurt and that is why the courts aren't going to allow it to happen."

He imposed an eight month jail term suspended for 18 months with 40 hours of unpaid work, 30 days of rehabilitation activity requirement and a two month curfew.