A man brandishing a knife in Bristol was disarmed by a young girl, a court heard.

Bristol Crown Court was told Andrew Gray was seen with the blade in Upjohn Crescent, Hartcliffe, in May.

When he collapsed face first on the ground the child managed to take the weapon from his pocket.

Gray, 46, of Bishport Avenue, Hartcliffe, pleaded guilty to possessing a bladed article.

Judge Carol Hagen, who heard he had a previous conviction for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, jailed him for 15 months.

Richard Posner, prosecuting, said: "On May 23, police responded to a report of a man with a knife in Upjohn Crescent.

"They found the defendant, clearly drunk, face down on the pavement.

"When the police sought more information, it was a girl who was under 13 who came forward and presented them with more information about the knife.

"She said she recovered the knife from his pocket.

"The blade was put in a cigarette packet before being presented to the police."

The girl told police she had seen a woman telling the man to put the knife away and the man did so before passing out.

When Gray was interviewed he told police he was unable to explain much about what happened

Jane Chamberlain, for Gray, said her client fully accepted the evidence given by the girl.

Miss Chamberlain said the youngster looked upon Gray as "silly", rather than in a more serious light.

She said: "The incident stemmed from the anniversary of Mr Gray's child's death seven years ago.

"It had an extremely negative impact on the defendant. He had limited his drinking substantially.

"Since 2007, following his release from custody, he was not in trouble for 18 months and had been working.

"On the anniversary he drank a substantial amount of vodka, which led to the offence."

Miss Chamberlain told the court Gray had not drunk since the offence.