A PROLIFIC offender who threatened a man with a knife in a road he was banned from entering has been jailed.

Burnley Crown Court heard how 22-year-old Charlie Green, who is also known as Charlie Chips, was given a restraining order in favour of his grandparents Barbara and Robert Chips by Blackburn magistrates on May 25, this year.

That order included a condition not to enter Lowerhouse Lane, Burnley, but prosecutor Lisa Worsley said Green breached that order shortly after 7.30pm on June 17.

Ms Worsley said drug addict Green, of no fixed address but formerly of Haslingden, was with a group of friends in nearby Harling Street when he was approached by victim Jason Middleton.

The court heard Mr Middleton believed Green, formerly of Lowerhouse Lane, Burnley, had his keys and confronted him about with an accusation.

Ms Worsley said in response Green threatened to 'chop him up', before reaching into his pants and showing Mr Middleton a large blade.

When Mr Middleton told him to put the knife down and 'be a man', Green responded by pulling the weapon fully out, the court was told.

Ms Worsley said Mr Middleton was advised by a friend to leave it so he walked away, got onto his bike and went into Lowerhouse Lane.

When he turned around he saw the defendant running towards him brandishing the knife.

Green, who has 38 convictions for 62 offences and has been given various ASBOs in the past for his nuisance behaviour in Burnley, pleaded guilty to affray, possessing an article with a blade or point and breaching a restraining order.

Defending, Mark Stuart, said his client had been offending since the age of 10 in Burnley but he was hoping for a fresh start by leaving East Lancashire and moving in with his mother.

Mr Stuart said: "It wasn't the defendant who wasn't going looking for trouble.

"He was not rampaging around the street.

"It was the complainant who approached him.

"What happened after that was unpleasant.

"The prosecution's allegation was that it was an offensive weapon and the defendant has pleaded guilty to that. But any confrontation was short lived."

Recorder Simon Medland QC said: "You are 22-years-of-age.

"You have got a particularly dreadful criminal record.

"For many years you have been in and out of trouble. Some of it relatively minor and some more serious.

"The fact is you have got a problem with drugs. That has effected the way you think about the world.

"On June 17 this year you were approached by Mr Middleton but it is your reaction to deal with that causes you to be where you are today.

"You had possession of a very serious weapon, a knife with a large blade.

"The thing about knives is they are always loaded.

"You have to do very little with them to cause very serious injury.

"The public is rightly sick and tired of people arming themselves."

Green was jailed for 12 months and order to pay the statutory surcharge to fund victim services.