A homeless man in "the grip of a severe alcohol addiction" stuck a chunky steak knife into a table outside the Bell Inn in Nottingham city centre.
The pub's bar manager had removed a glass of gin which did not belong to Daniel Small, who then took out the knife and jabbed it into the table, as frightened members of the public drank alfresco nearby.
Judge Steven Coupland - who sentenced Small to 16 months in prison for having the knife - watched CCTV of the later part of the terrifying incident, saying it was plain from what he had seen and read Small had been under the influence of drink or drugs that day.
"Possession of knives by anyone in this day and age is regarded particularly seriously, particularly by someone who was in the street you were in, and particularly when it was produced in public where people can see it," he told him in the dock.
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Small also has 199 offences on his record mainly for dishonesty. But four offences involved possessing weapons and three of those concerned him using the weapons to threaten people in 2017 and 2018, Nottingham Crown Court heard,
"It demonstrates you habitually have a weapon with you," added the judge, who also revoked a community order Small was on at the time.
Aged 45 and of no fixed address, Small had been sat outside the Bell Inn at 5.15pm on March 30 this year.
The court heard, in mitigation, he was practically verging on unconsciousness and could barely stand and did not know how he came to have the knife.
He had all his possessions with him that day after being homeless for a significant period of time. He has suffered with an addiction to Class A drugs for more than 30 years, the court heard.
His lawyer said he was in the grip of a "severe alcohol addiction", but is now clean in prison. He was described as very intelligent and a respectful young man but, unfortunately, addiction gets the better of him.
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