A TEENAGER who brandished a "fearsome looking" fishing knife after being confronted by a gang of youths has been handed a suspended jail term.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how Daniel Woods, aged 18, of Elm Drive, Ty Sign, Risca, had been on his way to his grandmother's house after a fishing trip, following by drinking in Newport, late on the evening of August 14 this year when he was approached by a group of around 10 youths.

He was pushed and tripped over a kerb, which caused the contents of his bag, including the knife, to spill onto the ground.

The court was also told Woods said he had taken the knife with him when he went fishing with his father, and had only brandished it because he feared he was going to be assaulted.

But during the incident, a man who sought to take the handle of the knife from Woods instead grabbed the blade, leaving him requiring stitches.

Woods said sorry to the man - who had intervened after hearing a disturbance outside his house - and stayed with him until the police, called by the man's wife, arrived.

Defence counsel Peter Wormald told the court that the man who intervened had been "courageous in the circumstances".

"He speaks well of this defendant, who was being goaded by other boys," said Mr Wormald.

"He [Woods] made a mistake and was completely compliant. He was in tears and is genuinely sorry that the knife caused this injury."

The judge, Recorder Jeremy Jenkins, told Woods it was a serious offence involving a "fearsome looking object". "But I accept it is a type commonly used in fishing," the judge added.

He noted the circumstances, and accepted that Woods was "genuinely remorseful" but said: "The very fact that you were brandishing this in public means anyone in the vicinity was in danger of injury or being killed. That is why knife crime is taken so seriously by the courts."

Woods, who had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing a sharply bladed article in a public place, was sentenced to eight months in a youth offenders' institution, suspended for 12 months.

He must also complete 120 hours of unpaid work, and the knife will be forfeited and destroyed.