A knife-wielding man lunged at a love rival with the weapon as trouble flared in a Whitehaven pub.

Jermaine Thompson brandished the blade and used it to threaten Curtis Kirkbride inside the Anchor Vaults, Market Place.

Carlisle Crown Court was shown CCTV footage of an incident which ended without injury.

But it resulted in 30-year-old Thompson - a previously convicted robber, custody escapee and drugs supplier - receiving an 18-month prison sentence.

This followed his guilty plea to a charge of possessing a weapon with intent to threaten.

Nicholas Flanagan, prosecuting, said the case had been brought to court despite Mr Kirkbride "not assisting police one iota".

Pub video footage from October 29 last year showed Mr Kirkbride walking up to seated Thompson just after 7pm, standing with hands in his pocket.

"The defendant immediately pulled out a six to seven-inch blade from his right jacket pocket and lunged towards Curtis," said Mr Flanagan.

"He managed to jump back and avoid being stabbed."

Others intervened in an incident which spilled outside. Thompson gave chase while still in possession of the knife - which was never found - before the incident ended.

But Thompson continued to maintain the blade was, in fact, a plastic children's Halloween replica he had acquired at a different pub earlier that day.

Indeed he gave evidence in court in a bid to persuade Recorder Kevin Grice that was the case.

"It wasn't a real knife at all," insisted Thompson, who claimed his "aggressive" victim was jealous.

"In previous months before we both slept with the same girl. The girl liked me more than him."

But after hearing his evidence, Recorder Grice concluded of the knife claim: "I don't believe a word the defendant tells me."

Thompson told the court he had been "paid off from work" the previous day. He was said by his barrister, Brendan Burke, to have been "working at Sellafield" before the job ended "due to redundancy".

He had been intending to travel to West Yorkshire and take up a job with a bathroom-fitting business.

But having heard about the previous crimes committed by Thompson - of Westcroft Road, Bradford - Recorder Grice imposed an immediate jail term.

"Fortunately no actual injury was caused," said the judge, "but the potential for serious injury was there."