SHOPPERS in Cwmbran town centre spotted a man wielding a hammer and a 10-inch knife days before Christmas last year.

Newport man Wayne Smith was caught on CCTV wandering among moving cars in the road while "drunk" and "brandishing" the weapons on December 18.

When police officers approached him, he yelled "I've already dropped the hammer", but the knife was found in his waistband.

After taking Smith to the ground, police also found a second knife, with a four-inch serrated blade, in his rucksack.

Laurence Jones, prosecuting, said video footage showed how 52-year-old Smith "sometimes strikes out with the knife at various objects" as he made his way along the town's Caradoc Road.

Hilary Roberts, defending, described the events as "alarming" but said Smith had made "no direct threat to anybody".

A psychiatrist had diagnosed the defendant with "borderline unstable personality disorder" and there had been "some form of psychotic episode going on" on December 18, Mr Roberts added.

Since then, the defendant had "done quite a bit" of work with drug and mental health agencies, and was being supported by charities that help former members of the military, the court heard.

"He very much recognises his own self-medication... is hugely damaging," Mr Roberts said. "The defendant is crying out for help with alcohol. He's working hard at that."

Smith, of Brake Crescent, Newport, admitted at an earlier court appearance two charges of possessing a knife in a public place.

At Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday, Judge Timothy Petts said Smith had been "generally behaving erratically" in Cwmbran on December 18, and "no doubt people were concerned about what you might do".

He said Smith had been "binging on alcohol" before the incident.

"Alcohol and knives are a very worrying combination," the judge told the defendant.

He gave Smith an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 15 months.

Smith must also complete a 90-day alcohol abstinence monitoring programme and 15 days of rehabilitation activities.