A Bristol father-of-six who drove his car at a teenager and chased him with a wheel brace has been given a suspended jail term.

Royston Mitchell, 61, mounted the pavement when he saw Marcus Labruto, 18, and sprinted after him shouting: "I'm going to kill you", Bristol Crown Court heard.

The youngster got away and contacted the police.

Mitchell, of Ashburton Road, Southmead, pleaded guilty to careless driving and possession of an offensive weapon, following the incident in March.

Imposing six months in jail, suspended for two years, Judge Julian Lambert told him: "You went willing, ready and able to inflict serious damage on that young man."

The judge ordered Mitchell to be supervised for two years and told him to abide by a six-month curfew in which he must stay at home, on electronic tag, from 7pm to 5am.

Mitchell was told to have no contact with the teenager, his wheel brace was destroyed and driving licence endorsed with nine penalty points.

David Martin, prosecuting, said Mitchell and the lad had a history of "bad blood".

He told the court Mitchell was driving his Renault Espace people carrier when he spotted the lad and drove onto the pavement before chasing him.

He said: "The prosecution accepted his guilty plea to careless driving. He got nowhere near to catching him, the escape was very good."

Mr Martin said Mitchell had previously appeared before the court on 35 occasions for 104 offences, including a large number of burglaries in the 1980s, robbery, possession of a firearm and common assault.

Tabitha Macfarlane, defending, said her client's life now was completely different to what used to be "a less than social lifestyle".

She told the court Mitchell now had care of six children and his wife had just qualified as a nurse.

She said his main concern about his latest court case was losing his driving licence.

The court heard Mitchell suffered medical problems and was being assessed for receipt of either disability or incapacity benefit.