A CRIMINAL with an "appalling record" has been jailed after chasing a love rival into the street at knifepoint.

Christopher Pearson, of no fixed abode, discovered his former partner in bed with Christopher Tattersall and another woman at a Boscombe hotel late last year.

But Mr Tattersall appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court on Monday to speak on Pearson's behalf, telling a judge: "He could have stabbed me but he didn't."

Nick Robinson, mitigating for Pearson, said: "The reality is that he found his partner with another man.

"This other man was having a menagé à trois with another female."

The barrister, who said Pearson is "no angel", added: "At least one can say he has maturely, sensibly and realistically taken responsibility for what he did.

"He has not been blinded by rage, anger and upset by the fact that he caught his partner sleeping with someone else."

Prosecuting, Simon Edwards said Pearson, 34, found his partner with Mr Tattersall at the Portman Hotel on December 20 2016.

"He entered the room holding a knife," Mr Edwards said.

"The knife had a four-inch black handle and five-inch blade.

"The defendant said, 'I'm going to kill you - I'm going to cut you up.'

"Mr Tattersall lifted a sofa and threw it at the defendant, enabling him to get out of the room."

However, the defendant chased Mr Tattersall into the street brandishing the knife.

After his arrest, Pearson - who has 50 previous convictions for 78 offences - made no comment during interview, other than to tell police: "It's a load of b******s."

The defendant was initially charged with affray and possession of a bladed article. He later pleaded not guilty to aggravated burglary.

Prosecutors eventually accepted a guilty plea to a single count of affray.

Judge Robert Pawson read aloud a statement written by Mr Tattersall, who appeared at court to speak out for Pearson.

The victim said: "During the altercation, he had many opportunities to stab me but chose not to.

"I ask the judge to take this into consideration. I just want him to be treated fairly."

Judge Pawson said the defendant has an "apparently phlegmatic victim".

"I have heard a summary of your previous convictions. The reason it had to be a summary is because there were 18 pages [of them]," he said.

"It's an appalling record."

However, the judge accepted that there was an "element of a crime of passion" about Pearson's latest offence.

The defendant was sentenced to 15 months in prison.