A MAN who brandished a large knife in public and threatened Bristol police has been jailed for six months.

Clive Snow was in Castle Park when passers-by saw him with a kitchen knife and phoned the police.

Snow, 52, of no fixed abode, then threatened officers with the weapon but dropped it when a taser gun was pointed at him and he was arrested.

He admitted having a blade in a public place and was jailed for six months at Bristol Crown Court.

Nicholas O'Brien, prosecuting, said Snow had been in Castle Park on Wednesday, September 10, when he alarmed members of the public by brandishing a kitchen knife with an eight inch blade which he had hidden under his coat.

The court heard Snow, who has a previous conviction for carrying a knife, threatened police but dropped the blade when a taser gun was pointed at him.

Nicholas Arthur, defending, said his client had not intended to use the knife and had carried it to provoke a reaction.

Jailing Snow, Recorder Mr Jonathan Barnes told him there was no alternative to custody.

He said: "You carried a large knife in public. It was concealed under your coat. It plainly came to the attention of members of the public because the police were informed.

"All offences of carrying a weapon in public are serious and in your case it's aggravated by a previous similar conviction," Mr Barnes told Bristol Crown Court.