A MAN who threatened to use knives on members of the public in Bournemouth has been jailed after magistrates heard he cannot be safely managed in the community.

Graham Maclean, who is of no fixed abode, has suffered a deterioration in his mental health in recent months, it was said.

The 33-year-old made the threatening comments at Hahnemann House, a NHS support centre for people with mental health problems.

Nicola Reece, prosecuting, told Poole Magistrates' Court the defendant had already been issued with a section 35 direction excluding him from the town centre on the morning of the incident.

"Police received a number of complaints from members of the public that he had been begging quite aggressively," she said.

"He was later found in Bournemouth Gardens, which is within the prohibited area, and he was arrested."

After his release from custody later that day, Maclean immediately went to Hahnemann House and demanded that the police be called.

"He said he had weapons, including knives, and if they didn't come he would use them on people in the town," Ms Reece said.

Maclean was also arrested on June 13 after a town centre ranger saw him holding a Stanley knife.

He admitted possessing a knife in a public place, using threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, failing to comply with a section 35 direction excluding him from Bournemouth town centre, failing to comply with the community requirements of a suspended sentence order and breach of a suspended sentence order.

Officers from the Probation Service said the risk posed by the defendant is "escalating" and he is "not assessed to be manageable within the community".

The defendant suffers with a range of issues, including manic bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder. He has been street homeless for "many years", it was heard.

Magistrates sentenced him to a total of 29 weeks in prison for the offences.