A mentally-ill man who fatally stabbed a father-of-three from Clevedon has been handed an indefinite hospital order.

Schizophrenic David Brown plunged a 15-centimetre-long blade into merchant seaman Christian Puttock’s chest because he wrongly believed he was abusing children, Bristol Crown Court heard.

The reality was that Mr Puttock, 34, was a much-loved family man who had just had a baby daughter.

He was killed on his wife’s birthday.

Brown, 35, who was living with his mother next to Mr Puttock in Cox Way, pleaded guilty to manslaughter following the killing in February.

Imposing the order under the Mental Health Act, the Honourable Mr Justice John Royce told him: “Mr Puttock was a decent, hard-working, well-respected man who was much loved by his family.

“It is a tragedy that his life was brought to such a cruel, violent and premature end. His family have to cope with his death and some of them have to live with the terrible memory of seeing it happen.

“Their loss is incalculable and will endure.”

The judge said that at the time Brown was suffering from a severe mental illness and his beliefs about Mr Puttock were without foundation. He told Brown: “You are a dangerous man.”

Outside court, and holding Mr Puttock’s baby daughter Aimee in her arms, his widow Lisa told the Post: “I just want to say that today, for me, this was Christian’s day and this is closure for him and us and maybe he can rest in peace.

“As a family we can try and move forward and today is not about David Brown. No amount of time he has been given is in any way justice for Christian’s life.”

Michael Cullum, prosecuting, told the court Mr Puttock, known as Chris, lived in Cox Way with his wife Lisa and Lisa’s sons by a previous relationship Matthew, 12, and Sean, 10.

Mr Cullum said they had been married for four years and two weeks before the fatal incident Mrs Puttock had given birth to their daughter Aimee.

Mr Cullum said although Brown lived in Cox Way with his mother, he was a stranger to the Puttocks.

It was on February 12, as the family went out to celebrate Lisa’s birthday, that Brown appeared with a knife in his hand, went up to Mr Puttock and stabbed him in the chest.

Mr Cullum told the court: “He called the deceased a paedophile.

“Mr Puttock said ‘what are you doing, why have you stabbed me?’ Mr Brown replied ‘you know what, you know what’.”

The court heard family friend Jonathan Hayter ushered Mr Puttock to his home and he and Matthew Puttock tried to stem blood from the wound with towels.

Meanwhile Brown remained in the street with the knife. Two police officers arrived and ordered him to drop the weapon. When he

refused they used CS gas on him.

Brown told officers Mr Puttock had deserved what he had got.

Mr Cullum added that by the time emergency services got to Mr Puttock he had already died and a post-mortem examination later showed he had died from a stab wound to the upper chest.

Police investigations revealed Brown had bought the knife from a shop in Chepstow. In interview he admitted he was hoping to kill Mr Puttock and said he was glad he was dead.

Dr Damian Gamble, a consultant forensic psychiatrist based in Usk, said he was satisfied Brown suffered from schizophrenia and he could be treated. As he was being sentenced Brown, who had a long matted beard, cried from the public gallery: “I don’t have schizophrenia, you’re making a terrible mistake.”

Mrs Puttock said afterwards that if Brown had been under supervision then perhaps her husband’s death could have been prevented.

The court heard Brown was a man of previous good character who had no problems with drugs or alcohol.

The police officer in charge of the case, Detective Chief Inspector Mike Courtiour, said: “I’d again like to extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to Christian Puttock’s family and friends.”

He added: “David Brown was a man with significant mental illness, as has been recognised in court with the prosecution’s accepted plea of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Whilst his actions on the day were truly horrific, there was no indication or recent previous incident brought to the notice of the police, or other statutory bodies, that he would

behave in such an extremely violent and devastating way.

“There are effective multi-agency public protection arrangements in place to deal with individuals who may present a risk to the community. David Brown was not subject to these arrangements and was not

receiving any treatment or intervention from local mental health services. He was known to them and had previously been sectioned under the Mental Health Act some years before this incident.”